Flor de loto

I am from San Francisco, and while not of Asian descent, I am familiar with the cultural difficulties of "East vs West" -- and every time I see this movie, I am impressed with how this is handled. Ok, granted, it's a fluff-and-sparkle R&H songfest, and not one of their best or most famous, but it does have some good commentary - as when the younger brother pops in and out with his completely modern slang...with the more common "generation gap" themes running rampant at this time (early 60's), it's even more interesting...and, as I say, I lived in SF very near Chinatown - it "feels" right, even tho it's an entirely fake set. Don't dismiss it out of hand - it's no "Joy Luck Club" or "Double Happiness" but it's not bad, either.

All right, all right. Yes, "Flower Drum Song" is a bit dated, sexist, and even a little stereotypical. The score contains a few great numbers like "Love, Look Away" and "I Enjoy Being a Girl" (In spite of the sexist lyrics, it's a fun song), but overall is not as good as other Rodgers and Hammerstein scores. But there is still much to like and enjoy in this charming film version of R&H's Broadway hit. The cast is great, and includes several veterans of the Broadway show, most notably former Oscar-winner Miyoshi Umecki, who is utterly enchanting as Mei Li, completely rising above the characterization of a placid "picture bride" who just sort of goes with the flow and doesn't question any of her "superiors" (men) with a performance that is sweetly comical and even a little touching at times. Other Broadway veterans Patrick Adiarte (You would never guess he was the same guy who was that annoying Crown Prince in the movie of The King and I) and Juanita Hall (from South Pacific) are likewise great, and Jack Soo is hilarious as the hip, deadpan Sammy Fong. Of the actors chosen just for the film, James Shigeta has a pleasent voice and acting style as Wang Ta, and Benson Fong is good enough in the rather stereotypical role of the stubbornly traditionalist Chinese father. As for Nancy Kwan as Linda Low, she is rather wooden as an actress and must've been an even worse singer (As she was dubbed by BJ Baker), but does a great job dancing in the nightclub sequences. But yes, Pat Suzuki from the Broadway show would've been a much better choice, judging by the original cast recording. Reiko Sato is pretty good as Helen Chao and Marilyn Horne does a beautiful job of dubbing her in "Love, Look Away." Aside from the great cast, the orchestrations are wonderful and better than the Broadway arrangements, and the choreography by Hermes Pan is really, really good. This is one of the more faithful filmizations of a Broadway show, aside from cutting one song (The forgettable "Like a God"), re-ordering a few others and throwing in a few new scenes. And while perhaps Rodgers and Hammerstein couldn't quite bring the depth to this story of Chinese immigrants adjusting to life in San Francisco's Chinatown, they did it with great charm and overall respect. There are many delights in the score such as "A Hundred Million Miracles," the hilarious "Don't Marry Me," "Sunday," "Grant Avenue," and the lovely "You Are Beautiful." Even if these are not on a level with the other R&H scores, they are well-written and memorable. Truly an under-rated film that deserves another look. Right now in Los Angeles, a new revival of the stage version with a completely new book by Asian-American playwright David Henry Hwang is appearing, possibly on its way to Broadway. It makes sense to finally have this story told from a truly Asian-American perspective, and hopefully, though some of Hwang's choices sound a bit odd, (Putting in something about CHinese opera, cutting Sammy Fong and the whole "Other Generation" song and idea, which is pretty crucial to the original, and making Mei Li a refugee from Chinese Communism) hopefully this new version will further allow people to reconsider their view of this show and its film version.

I watched the film last night with 2 Chinese friends who knew nothing about it. They loved every minute of it and so did I, 45 years after my initial viewing. It still has a great message for all of us no matter where we live and you just get swept away by the wonderful score. The dance routines are charming and the interiors quite exquisite. Nancy Kwan has never looked lovelier as Linda Loo and Jack Soo is always a delight.Juanita Hall brings her great presence to the role of Madame Liang and Miyoshi Umeki and James Shigeta are two fine performers. Patrick Adriarte dances with great verve. A great night's viewing for all!

Many of the songs are very well done and enjoyable, especially Nancy Kwan's "I Enjoy Being a Girl." Yowza! All the actors are fabulous and the lines are a ball. Not only is it a love story but a great tale of modern vs. traditional values and absolutely suitable for all ages.

A groundbreaking and charming film. It doesn't reach quite as high as maybe it could have and it's got a few flaws, but it was enormous step forward at the time, and it's entertaining besides. The cast has a lot of underrated star power (Nancy Kwan and James Shigeta), there are some really nice musical numbers, and the heart of this film is in the right place, treating Asian-Americans as people for a change.

The main message of this film is pretty loud and clear to me - Asian-Americans are just as American as anyone else - and this is where the film truly shines. Quite a bit of it deals with the gap between older and younger generations, and could have been applied to any immigrant culture. We see the kids spouting slang, playing baseball, and dressed up as Revolutionary War figures for a parade. In one number we see the electric Nancy Kwan singing not in some exotic getup or about some Chinese-specific theme, but simply "I Enjoy Being a Girl" in front of three mirrors ala Marilyn Monroe or Bridget Bardot. Jack Soo is a nightclub owner and as smooth as Dean Martin, and suave leading man James Shigeta reminded me of Peter Lawford. None of them speak with an awful accent or in caricature, and one of the nice moments early on shows that people on the streets of Chinatown don't necessarily know how to read Chinese. The story that has three women (Reiko Sato is the third) romantically interested in the two men is a little silly, but it's similar to others in this genre, it's pretty damn nice to see the male characters not emasculated and the open kissing. Quite a bit of the film is universal.

It's a little hit and miss in the musical numbers, but there are several standouts:

• The three kids dancing and singing in "The Other Generation" - absolutely adorable.
• Nancy Kwan in her lingerie and beautiful outfits in "I Enjoy Being a Girl" - hello, and she's fantastic throughout.
• The ensemble cast breaking out into vibrant American dancing towards the end of "Chop Suey" - very cool and so joyful.
• Reiko Sato in "Love Look Away," which includes some dreamy and ethereal effects - simply gorgeous.

There are also some nice little visual touches, such as the different mirrors reflecting different things in "I Enjoy Being a Girl," and black and white cowboy and Indian characters coming out of a TV to run around in "Sunday." The latter are played by Asian-Americans and there's a lot to unpack there, but suffice to say it's a little unfortunate this bit wasn't based on some other traditional/classic American movie type.

Where the film fails a bit is in its depiction of Chinese customs, which is maybe not surprising given the Western writers/composers and the fact that this was playing to a 1961 audience, but a little disappointing nonetheless. The 'flower drum song' ("A Hundred Million Miracles") is unengaging musically and inauthentic culturally, and watching the first performance in the Celestial Gardens nightclub is like eating a highly westernized version of Chinese food. While most of the characters are far from stereotypical and quite refreshing, the young woman from China (Miyoshi Umeki) is too subservient, particularly when she finds herself being paired up with the nightclub owner and more than willing to accept all of his flaws. Her character and her musical performances were my least favorite part of the film, though even she has a nice little moment imitating Soo at the end of "Don't Marry Me."

Overall though, this is a fine film, even touching on humanizing illegal immigration. You can count films from Hollywood with such Asian representation on one hand over the years, and unless I'm forgetting one, the next wouldn't be for over three decades (The Joy Luck Club (1993)). It's a shame that Anna May Wong died earlier in the year at just 56, and couldn't play the part of the aunt/sister-in-law as planned, or even see the film - I'm sure she would have loved it.