Line #9 YMMV/ByeByeBirdie


1	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Conrad Birdie himself, especially in the movie; entitled celebrity JerkAss, or just psychotically determined to cram in as much fun as he can before he's sent off to get shot at? "Got A Lot of Livin' To Do" hints at the latter.
2	* AluminumChristmasTrees: Most people assume Conrad Birdie is entirely an Elvis caricature, but his name is actually a parody of Conway Twitty, one of Elvis’ main rock-and-roll rivals in the '50's. He is much better remembered today as either a country performer or a [[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy non sequitur gag]], depending on one’s generation.
3	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Everyone in the movie melting at the end of "Telephone Hour".
4	* BrokenBase:
5	** Does the movie's {{retool}}ed script ruin the musical, or does the movie feel entertaining enough in its own right?
6	** The 1995 TV special followed the play more closely than the movie did, but some viewers still found reason to like it less, such as calling its new songs {{Padding}}.
7	* EthnicScrappy: The song "Spanish Rose" is a rare case of a character ''deliberately'' invoking this trope. Having endured a litany of racist remarks from her prospective mother-in-law for most of the play, Rosie Alvarez declares her intention to get revenge by acting "so Spanish eet will make you seeck."
8	* FirstInstallmentWins: The 1981 sequel, ''Bring Back Birdie'', only lasted 4 performances on Broadway.
9	* HarsherInHindsight: In the film version, Albert’s negotiations with the Soviet ballet director go south when he responds to “Long live Kennedy” with “Long live Stalin,” who was already dead. Kennedy was assassinated just months after the film’s release.
10	* HilariousInHindsight:
11	** Creator/{{ABC}} went from trying to compete with Ed Sullivan (whose program aired on Creator/{{CBS}}) to updating a musical about the excitement of appearing on his show.
12	** Ann-Margret playing a character who fawns over an Elvis Presley {{Expy}} in the film version, considering that she would later meet and act alongside the real deal in ''Film/VivaLasVegas''.
13	** In the film, Ann-Margret (born Ann-Margret Olsson) and Bobby Rydell play love interests. In a later, more famous '50s themed musical, ''Film/{{Grease}}'', the heroine Sandy ''Olsson'' attends ''Rydell'' High School. (Of course these were intentional [[ShoutOut Shout-Outs.]])
14	* JerkassWoobie: Conrad may have been an arrogant and shady rock star, however it's still very disheartening when his manager Albert sends him away on a train out of his life for good, to which he even begs Albert "Don't leave me!" (presumably to go enlist on schedule), especially when he gave Albert a "lifetime contract" for bailing him out. Plus, Albert hardly even seems to care for his well being at that point, despite the fact that he's obviously terrified of going into war.
15	* [[HoYay Les Yay]]: There is an... interesting scene in the movie where Rosie walks into Kim's bedroom and casually undresses. Kim helps lace her into a sexy flamenco outfit and the scene culminates with Rosie kissing her on the forehead.
16	* {{Narm}}: Any time Kim claims to be a grown woman becomes this in the 1995 TV special, which cast 27-year old Chynna Phillips in the role -- despite her being ''10'' years older than what the script lists as 17-year old Kim's age.
17	* ParodyDisplacement: The parody of "Telephone Hour" from ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'' is likely better known than the original these days. Ditto ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''' take on "Kids".
18	* PopCulturalOsmosis:
19	** Hollins University, an all-women's college in Roanoke, VA, has the particular tradition of singing the girls' verse of "We Love You Conrad" as an expression of affection ("We love you [Hollins/seniors/insert thing to be celebrated here], oh yes we do, we love you [X], and we'll be true! When you're not with us, we're blue! Oh, [X], we love you!"). A not-insignificant portion of the student body aren't aware that it's from this musical.
20	** For that matter, there's probably a not-insignificant group of people who have only heard the tune repurposed as a Music/TheBeatles [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPQ8P2QZvKg fan song.]]
21	* QuestionableCasting:
22	** Writing about the 1963 film in his memoirs, Charles Strouse noted: "Blond Janet Leigh, as Caucasian as you can get, could neither sing, dance, nor speak with a Latina accent. So, of course, she'd been cast in the role of Rosie Alvarez, a singing, dancing, [[SpicyLatina Hispanic spitfire]] because... well, because".
23	** From the 1995 TV movie: Why in the world did they cast Jason Alexander as Albert Peterson (a role originated by Dick Van Dyke) when he's nowhere near as charming? Tellingly, he expected to land the role of Kim's father instead.
24	** Chynna Phillips made a very questionable Kim, since she seemed obviously too old for the role.
25	*** It may have to do with the ice house scene where Kim and Conrad go to be alone and that would NOT sit well with audiences if they used a real 17-year-old.
26	* SignatureSong: From the stage show, ''Telephone Hour'' is easily the most famous song from the musical, having been parodied several times.
27	* ValuesDissonance:
28	** Though Albert's mother is not a particularly sympathetic character, her casual racism towards (the Hispanic) Rosie--''PlayedForLaughs'', even--can be jarring to modern audiences. Modern scripts for the play include alternative lines that soften her dialogue a tad.
29	** The 1963 movie notably avoids this. Mrs. Peterson still hates Rosie, but it's because she is upset that Rosie will take her "baby," Albert, from her. In fact, Rosie's "Hispanic-ness" is barely even mentioned.
30	** The lyrics of 'How Lovely To Be A Woman' can be cringe inducing and manages to load in multiple sexist stereotypes against both genders:
31	---> 'How lovely to be a woman/and have one job to do/to pick out a boy and train him/and then when you are through/you make him the man you want him to be...'
32	** Hugo's possessiveness of Kim and Kim's eagerness to be told what to do by what is a comparatively new boyfriend also don't sit as well with modern audiences.
33	** The sad girl's line in the musical, stating that she'll be "too old" for Conrad Birdie when he gets out of the army is very creepy on many levels, especially since she would in fact be of legal age when he's finished with his tour of duty.
34	** Kim's father's authoritarian way of dealing with his family, as well as his tendency to shut up and put down his son Randolph, might have garnered more sympathy in 1960 than it would today.

Context YMMV / ByeByeBirdie