YMMV / Hello, Dolly!

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Dolly... well-meaning meddler, or sociopath out looking to maintain her position on top and to profit from it?
• Awesome Moment:
  • Dolly's big proclamation at the end of Act 1.
  Dolly: Ephram, let me go, it's been long enough Ephram. Evey evening, for all these years, I've put out the cat, I've locked the door, I've made myself a little rum toddy, and before I went to bed I'd say a little prayer thanking God that I was independent, that no other life was mixed up with mine. And then one night, an oak leaf fell out of my bible. I placed it there when you asked me to marry you Ephram. A perfectly good oak leaf, but without color or life. It was then I suddenly realized, I was like that leaf. For years I have shed not one tear, nor I had I felt the wondeful hope that something or other would turn out well. And so I have decided to rejoin the human race! And Ephram... I want you to give me away...
  • Dolly's entrance to Harmonia Gardens, dressed to the 9s is always guaranteed to garner thundering applause from the audience.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment:
  • The movie version of "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" abruptly cuts away from the main characters dancing at the train station, to a crowd of faraway, nameless children, inexplicably repeating two lines of the song. After the movie cuts back to the station, those kids never appear again, much less interact with the stars.
  • In the middle of the title number, Louis Armstrong appears out of nowhere as himself to sing a bit before exiting the movie with no explanation for why he was there.
• Can't Un-Hear It: While there have been many to play the part and earn acclaim since her, Carol Channing is still seen as the definitive Dolly. This is thanks to being the acclaimed Tony-winning originator, playing it so many times over the years, and her unforgettably unique voice.
• Jerkass Woobie: Horace may be quite mean, but he earns sympathy due to the chaotic day Dolly puts him through. His mention of a deceased wife adds to this.
• Just Here for Godzilla: Admit it. You watch this because the songs were featured in WALL•E.
• One-Scene Wonder: Louis Armstrong!
• Presumed Flop: The film was a financial success (it was the third highest-grossing film of the year), but it still lost its backers an estimated $10 million due to its excessive production costs.
• Questionable Casting: Many felt Barbra Streisand was far too young to play Dolly (for reference, Dolly is supposed to be around middle-aged, whereas Streisand was 25 during filming). Many saw her casting as primarily an attempt to capitalize on her popularity during the time. Streisand herself treats the film as an Old Shame for this reason, having said when asked about it on Inside the Actors Studio that she was too young and should not have taken the part.
• Retroactive Recognition: Michael Crawford, nearly twenty years before he was The Phantom of the Opera.
• Signature Song:
  • "Hello, Dolly!" The chart-topping title number has been the benchmark for all showstoppers since.
  • To a lesser extent, "Put On Your Sunday Clothes", if only because WALL•E popularized it. The same can be said of "It Only Takes a Moment", again because of the film.
• Sweetness Aversion: The aforementioned kids' choir in the movie version of "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" raise the song's cuteness to a cringeworthy level.

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