MovieChat Forums > Flower Drum Song (1962) Discussion > This movie didn't work.. Not enough Nanc...

This movie didn't work.. Not enough Nancy Kwan..

posted 13 years ago by cdz6969
7 replies | jump to latest

I thought she was suppose to be the star of this movie.. halfway though the movie they almost stop focusing on her as a major character.. and she just becomes an annoying girlfriend to Sammy..

They showed too much of Mei Li crying about Ta.. and it got annoying.. then somehow because he felt so sorry for her.. he fell in love with her.. Why?

I think it would have been a better story if Ta and Linda would have more time to develop a normal care free relationship. He had to have known she was a fast girl.. and he probably liked it.. The problem was when she showed up to his party he was already being judge by his father.. then at the club.. when he saw she was a dancer.. he was so embarrassed that his family saw her that.. he had no choice but to distance himself for her..

Bottom line.. if his family didn't pick out a girl for him.. he would have spent more time with Linda.. and the movie would have been more of a romantic comedy..

Sure she was a bit of a gold digger.. but maybe he wouldn't of cared..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnoSLDmxjXc&feature=related#t=486

[–] rorysa 13 years ago

It makes little sense to level this criticism at the film version. A critique of the plot should be charged against the original stage show or the C.Y. Lee novel on which it was based.

[–] gaelicguy 13 years ago

Linda and Wang Ta would have made a terrible match. His "Oriental" side would have annoyed and baffled her and it would, eventually, have driven her to distraction. Linda would have felt very constricted by her in-laws, their traditional values, etc. As well, I would respectfully disagree -- I think Miyoshi Umeki as Mei Le is the star in as much as it's really her story being told.

The point about Ta falling for Mei Le once he gets the boot from Linda is a bit of a stretch, I agree. Mei La is in love with Ta from the very beginning, but he barely notices her. It is a plot hole, but as is the case with musicals, particularly, we have to suspend our disbelief.

It'a a lovely story and, ultimately, everything shakes out just fine.

The devil turns away from a closed door.

[–] gribfritz2 13 years ago

Not really. The criticism is justified since the film version and ONLY the film version gave Nancy Kwan star billing. As I was watching it, I felt like there was no real main character, which was a problem. The story shifted too much. At first, I thought Mei Li was going to be the main character, then she kind of vanishes and it shifts to the Wang family. Then it ends up shifting to Sammy Fong! It was like watching three short films instead of one.

I felt the main character should have been the father. I was amused to see that in the original novel, he IS the main character. Typical, giving people romance at the expense of a good story.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] jporter-6 11 years ago

It is difficult to say that Nancy Kwan was the leading star. The movie resembles a production with an ensemble cast, rather having a lead.

[–] heyuactor 10 years ago

^^this. Except I wish she had been in it more...

"Did you make coffee...? Make it!"--Cheyenne.

[–] TheChamCham 9 years ago

The credits say -and Miyoshi Umeki which is supposed to set her apart but instead it is misleading while giving Nancy Kwan star billing. Umeki had been nominated for a Tony for the Broadway musical, she had also won an Oscar for Sayonara a few years earlier. This should have given her undisputed top billing. Nancy Kwan was not in the musical on Broadway and was best known for The World of Suzie Wong a film in which she co-starred with William Holden a few years earlier.

"I say,open this door at once! We're British !"