Gung Ho

Many movies have been made about the rank and file. This comedy directed by Howard tries to plumb the same genre but comes up short. The attempt at whimsy disintegrates into smart-aleck-ism, and the result is only a middling-good picture. Hadleyville, Pennsylvania, is a pleasant little one-industry burg that has gone straight down since its car factory closed. Keaton, a former employee, has been deputized by the jobless to go to Japan to talk some auto executives into considering the downsliding town for an automaking site. Despite a near screw-up by Hunt, the Japanese choose Hadleyville as their location, and Hunt is acclaimed as conquering hero. But the meeting o...