Gung Ho

About this episode

The Mikes discuss the film 'Gung Ho', highlighting its humor and charm while critiquing its character development and ending.

This week on Forgotten Cinema, the Mikes take on "Gung Ho", the workplace comedy that blends culture clash with 80s charm. Both Mike Butler and Mike Field enjoy the film for its humor and overall fun factor, but they agree it comes with some noticeable issues. Michael Keaton carries the movie almost entirely on charisma and charm, as his character does not have a particularly strong arc and seems to change in the third act simply because the story demands it, rather than earning that growth. The Mikes also take issue with George Wendt’s character, who comes off as one of the film’s true villains. He is consistently ungrateful and disruptive, yet faces no real consequences and does not learn any meaningful lesson by the end. In contrast, Kazihiro is a much more compelling character, someone you want to root for, though the film leaves a lot of his personal story unexplored, especially when it comes to his family and transition to life in the United States. The ending is another sticking point. Instead of feeling earned, it leans on a convenient resolution where characters essentially pretend success into existence, rather than working toward a believable payoff. Still, the Mikes…

People in this episode

Hosts: Mike Butler, Mike Field

Topics covered

• Gung Ho
• workplace comedy
• culture clash
• 1980s films
• film review

Keywords

• Michael Keaton
• George Wendt
• Kazihiro
• film flaws
• comedy

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Gung Ho

Places: the United States

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