on the one hand, the music was incredibly weak and gave almost no enhancement to the story. on the other hand, the story was strong and interesting enough that it didn't really need musical enhancement. I guess I would describe this movie not as a good or bad musical, but as a light-hearted social dramedy where people randomly break into song. in that respect, it's a little unusual, but it's not too bad. R&H were definitely out of their element on this one.
I was 6 yrs old the first time I saw this movie in the theater the year it was released and I was totally charmed! I loved Nancy Kwan's "I Enjoy Being a Girl" and remember coming home and doing the whole routine in front of my bedroom mirror the best I could remember. 46 years later I just watched it again and again was totally charmed by this highly under-rated Rogers and Hammerstein film. Wonderful tunes and great dance numbers. I'm humming "A Hundred Million Miracles" and will be for the next several days, and still after all this time 'enjoy being a girl'. (who loves her musicals - this one an ol favorite)
The first time I saw this, I fell in love. An oriental musical and cast about a mail order bride who ends up in San Francisco from China, to claim her groom but ends up in a twist along the way. Miyoshi Umeki, who recently passed away plays the mail order bride. Interesting musical. Great scores A Hundred Million Miracles, Chop Suey, I Enjoy Being a Girl among others.
A lovely musical. Simply stunning. So many characters and relationships filled with drama, overseas illegal business, Fransisco, California, and how the traditional Chinese are learning to become modern with American culture.
An Asian American musical from the '60's - I think this is truly unique and I know not of anything else like it. There are so many "class" struggle movies out there but this one is in it's own world. It combined American flare with Chinese twist. Great movie and dance numbers!!!
Rodgers & Hammerstein and director Henry Koster sent shockwaves through Hollywood with this musical requiring a cast made up entirely of Asian actors. I was delighted to finally get the experience to watch this film. My recommendation is to watch all of the short documentaries that are included with this DVD before watching the film, as I didn't really fully appreciate what was put together until I gained all of that background knowledge about the film, musical and screenplay.
Chinese-american Musical It is fun movie to watch. I just happen to catch the movie on the AMC channel. The music is by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. My songs from the movie is "Chop Suey" & "It Fun Being A Girl. A movie for the whole family. It is a good american musical with a chinese twist.
This is one of my favorite musicals. It's cute, upbeat, and set in San Francisco! It might not be the most politically correct film there is, but if you can get past that, it's really very good.
There's the really really big (read popular - and also good) R&H musicals ("Oklahoma!", "Carousel", "South Pacific", "The King & I" and "The Sound of Music") and then there's "Flower Drum Song".
I've never seen FDS on the stage but I've seen the others on stage and screen. And while R&H musicals are better on the stage, I can't offer that opinion on this one since I've only seen the movie (well part of it anyway).
I rented video (VHS tape) about 10 years ago and I couldn't make it beyond the first half hour.
R&H were noted for being ahead of their time when it came to issues like women's rights and racism, but somehow they forgot everything when it came to "Flower Drum Song".
If you're into 1950's Asian and Female stereotypes, then perhaps you might like this. I'm not and I was very disappointed. I stopped watching after about 30 minutes.
I'd been somewhat curious about the 2003 Broadway Revival (with a new book) that supposedly toned down the stereotypes, but still. The overall story just didn't do it for me.
MCT:July 28, 2008
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MCT:November 23, 2007
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MCT:September 4, 2007
MCT:January 3, 2007
