* AdaptationDisplacement: The play and film are much better remembered than the original novel. The film likewise experiences this far more than other Rogers & Hammersteins properties. The stage version is rarely revived, so the film is what most people think of first. Also the original stage version was much more patronising to Asian Americans, and received some major changes when it was revived in 2002.
* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Mei Li rather quickly [[spoiler: realises she loves Ta]] despite breaking it off with him. Was it from spending time with Sammy and realising how incompatible they are? Or more humorously was it from watching all the American movies, and realising that relationships are complicated? Hence why she [[spoiler: decides to forgive Ta for being found at Helen Chao's]].
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: It's Rogers & Hammertstein, duh!
** "A Hundred Million Miracles" -- a lovely soothing song that Mei Li sings at the very beginning, turning it into a CrowdSong as the entire street crowds round to watch.
** "I Enjoy Being A Girl" is the movie's most popular song, enjoying numerous covers by singers such as Creator/LeaSalonga, Music/DorisDay and Peggy Lee.
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: During "Sunday" -- a musical number where Sammy and Linda imagine life as newlyweds, there's suddenly a sequence where they have to entertain a bunch of in-laws. A child comes into the scene -- presumably Linda and Sammy's -- and starts shooting at a cowboy and Indian in a film on TV. The cowboy and Indian break out of the television and chase everyone all around the house. The sequence has nothing to do with Linda and Sammy's song -- and when it fades back they don't reference the odd direction their fantasy went in.
* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** Madame Liang for being the OnlySaneMan and getting many of the best songs. Fans of the original stage version were quite annoyed at how her role was cut down in the film adaptation.
** Helen Chao has quite a small role as an UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom, and disappears for the third act. But she gets a fun DreamBallet that ensures everyone remembers her. Rogers & Hammerstein even found her a strong character from the novel [[spoiler: and couldn't bear to kill her off]].
** Sammy Fong is one, especially in the film, as one of the few big roles that Jack Soo got to play in his career. He was essentially a featured extra between this film and the series ''Barney Miller''.
* FairForItsDay:
** The film averted many tropes associated with Asians and Asian-Americans in popular culture, featured many diverse characters and all but one of them were played by Asian actors. Considering the lack of representation Asian-Americans still suffer from in today's Hollywood, that's very impressive. What's more is that the film is far less patronising than the stage version -- choosing to focus more on the CultureClash in Chinatown in an honest way. The stage version had a white man Larry Blyden playing Sammy -- but the film cast the Asian Jack Soo. It would have done the same for Madam Liang but Anna May Wong's death led to Juanita Hall reprising her role from the stage version.
--->'''Nancy Kwan:''' I'm proud of the film...I think you can still see the charm, and how can you go wrong with Rogers & Hammerstein?
** It might also be lost on modern viewers used to the GoldDigger character that Linda Low broke stereotype in terms of Asian roles at the time. Nancy Kwan pointed out that Asian women were usually demure and servile in American films -- or else if they were sexual, it was as an evil DragonLady. Linda, meanwhile, is a sexual character, but is not evil and edges towards a GoodBadGirl.
* FridgeBrilliance: The song "Gliding Through My Memory" shows how ridiculous it is to use other cultures' costumes as mere entertainment, something that Hollywood had been infamous for doing at the time (''especially'' towards China).
* GeniusBonus: During "Chop Suey", Madame Liang sings that they can watch Clara Bow movies on TV -- to which the crowd of kids around her ask who that is. Clara Bow was a big star during the Silent Age -- the original 'It Girl' (because she starred in a movie called ''Film/{{It|1927}}''). Her career however faded during the 30s and she retired at the age of 28. Madame Liang would of course have been old enough to be around when Clara Bow was famous.
* HilariousInHindsight:
** Creator/AnnaMayWong had just accepted the role of Madame Liang before her death. She had been a star back in the Silent Age and UsefulNotes/ThePreCodeEra but often lost out on good parts in favour of white actresses in {{Yellowface}}. After she died, the role meant for her went to Juanita Hall... the only cast member to perform in {{Yellowface}}.
** The "girl from Sweden" showgirl during "Gliding Through My Memoree / Fan Tan Fanny" number wears an outfit with a blonde wig in pigtails calls to mind [[Manga/SailorMoon a certain magical girl...]]
* JerkassWoobie: Helen Chao in the novel. Granted she does essentially date rape Ta but her eventual fate of [[spoiler:committing suicide over his rejection]] is quite sad. Notably the film softens her and eliminates the depressing ending.
* LGBTFanbase: The song "I Enjoy Being A Girl" became very popular at gay nightclubs and with drag queens.
* MinorityShowGhetto: While the film version was a hit (despite persistent rumors that it was a BoxOfficeBomb), the stage version has rarely been revived because every role needs to be played by an Asian or Asian-American actor.
* {{Narm}}: Some of the exaggerated movements the children make in "The Other Generation" are just bizarre.
* OneSceneWonder:
** Ta's snarky little brother San only appears here and there, but he's guaranteed to make at least one great one-liner every time he does.
** Sammy's overbearing mother doesn't show up until nearly two hours in, but she's brilliantly entertaining.
* ValuesDissonance:
** Although FairForItsDay, ''Literature/FlowerDrumSong'' is to Chinese-Americans as ''Theatre/TheKingAndI'' is to the Thai.[[note]]This is to say, they hate it.[[/note]]
** Mei Li is an illegal immigrant because she has to contend with immigration quotas -- which would not be lifted until 1965 -- saying she must wait ten years before she can enter the country legally. [[OldMaid And therefore be too old to marry]].
** The immigration quotas affect Linda's character, even though it's not directly stated. As a consequence of the quotas, there was a huge imbalance of men to women in Chinatown at the time; five men for every woman roughly. As a result, Linda's situation of being particular about who she marries, was a cultural reality.
** Linda's GoldDigger tendencies are a source of concern to Master Wang. But it's discovering that she's [[SkewedPriorities a club dancer that convinces Ta to abandon their engagement]]. This is more due to the discovery of what she does confirming that she's a liar, and therefore probably not a good match.
** Linda's song "I Enjoy Being A Girl" has jokingly been described by Nancy Kwan as a song feminists would not be happy with. Of course this ignores that Linda is portrayed as a shallow manipulator.
* ValuesResonance: The themes of trying to move with the times while still upholding the values of where you came from are still relevant today for many, as noted [[http://compendiummpls.blogspot.ie/2017/01/follow-this-flower-drum-song.html here]].
-->"Where is the line between giving away your heritage and becoming accepted in your new society? Which traditions do you choose to keep or to discard? When is the time appropriate to give up on your dream and return home?"
* WatchedItForTheRepresentation: Despite including what some consider outdated stereotypes, it still enjoys a strong fan base among Asian American viewers: the film adaptation is noted for being one of the very few Hollywood films of its era to feature an almost entirely Asian and Asian American cast. As David Henry Hwang (who revised the book for the Broadway revival) said of the film, "It was kind of a GuiltyPleasure ... and one of the only big Hollywood films where you could see a lot of really good Asian actors onscreen, singing and dancing and cracking jokes." Meanwhile, the solo number "I Enjoy Being a Girl" gained classic status for inadvertently representing [[DragQueen a different fan base]]....
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