A childhood favorite, I’m surprised by how likeable this movie remains today, despite it’s being built on obviously racist, blue collar fears of Japanese culture and economic resurgence, two direct references to World War Two, repeated shots at Japanese cuisine and tradition, and a simplistic framing device built from the overstated idea that American=arrogant and lazy, but proud / Japanese=hardworking and serious, but efficient. Michael Keaton is a charmer, hoodwinking roomfuls of characters in the film, as well as this viewer in the process.
Gung Ho is just one of many examples of how America’s preoccupation with Japanese advancement got so quickly out of hand in the 70s, 80s, and early 1990s. Mr. Baseball is another seemingly innocent Hollywood comedy that aggressively questions how a specific cultural instituation sacred to the U.S. could possibly be adopted, loved, and evolved by another country. Like Gung Ho before it, the Americans in Mr. Baseball must learn how to think and work hard, while the Japanese must learn to relax and take chances, before everyone can just get along.
by Jason Woloski | Source: Paramount DVD
25 Aug 2005 11:39 PM | Comments (1)
I fell asleep during this movie. It was the second feature on a double bill at the drive-in with Top Gun.
matt
26 August 2005
7:55 PM
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