Miss Granny is a 2014 Korean comedy-drama film about an aging grandmother that magically gets a chance to relive her youth.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Here's your story: Na Moon-Hee initially stars as the titular Granny. She portrays a woman in her golden years who soon finds herself becoming less & less relevant to the family she helped raised and the world she now lives in. While reflecting on her life on one particularly bleak day, she accidentally stumbles across a means to turn back the clock 50 years. Nothing else has changed with the world, but she's now stuck in the body of her former 20 year old self.
The majority of the early part of this film plays like a straightforward drama about the life of a granny and her surrounding family. Na Moon-Hee is a fine, fine actress whose primary job is to set this entire film in motion by portraying the prototypical Korean entertainment matriarch; she's wise and kind and cares for her extended family, but she's also stuck in her ways, nags a lot, and seemingly doesn't have much left to look forward to in life. Na Moon-Hee spends most all of her screen time simply establishing these basic familiar traits & familial relationships, while endeavoring to provide a good deal of viewer sentiment towards the plight of her ever-aging character.
A little while in, the change from 70 year old woman to 20 year old girl occurs, and a new actress takes over in the Granny role. Shim Eun-Kyung gets the role of "Young Granny" and is ultimately the star of this film. She's dually tasked with playing an adorable young girl from the past mixed with a modern older woman from the present, while frequently having to call upon and blend the traits of both. It's a rather juicy part (for a rom-com melodrama) that is crucial to the overall success of this film, and Eun-Kyung does not disappoint. She is very impressive throughout this film right from the moment she bursts onto the scene.
Things get pretty amusing as soon as Young Granny shows up and starts to realize what has happened to her. After some initial shock, then acceptance, she quickly gets busy taking full advantage of the opportunity at hand; Young Granny moves right back in with her family under the guise of an anonymous young boarder, and sets off on completing a proper 'Fantasy To Do List' (i.e. go on a shopping spree, join a band, find romance, etc). After soaking in all that her newfound youth has to offer, and avoiding detection as long as possible, Young Granny has to eventually choose between continuing on as a 20 year old or reverting back to her older self. And, this being a Korean film, there's probably going to be some melodrama involved with her decision.
All in all, everything falls into place quite well with this little flick. It will occasionally meander along from one set piece to another, but everything is kept moving along expediently enough. All of the auxiliary characters were relevant and solid when called upon and there are no real antagonists to speak of to get in the way of things. This movie does tend to play like a mostly lighthearted Korean fantasy TV melodrama that's condensed and edited up into a 2 hour format, and, it is shamelessly sweet and sappy whenever it gets a chance to be so. But, it's also occasionally poignant & quite charming overall, and, it is often freakin' hilarious once it starts to heat up. The film does benefit considerably from a combination of several stellar performances and some sharp writing/editing/direction when necessary. And, perhaps this film's biggest attribute lies in its own ability to be somewhat self-deprecating; it often seems to delight in chiding a number of well-worn genre specific themes and common industry motifs, while simultaneously embracing many of those very same aspects in order to produce a simple, fun, & entertaining movie.
Summary: I've seen far better films this year (from Korea and elsewhere); more original films, more exciting films, more important films, etc. Nevertheless, I can't think of too many movies that I actually enjoyed more than 'Miss Granny'. It's solidly recommended no matter who you are or where you're from, but, you'll most definitely get more mileage out of it if you're a fan of &/or are familiar with the Korean entertainment industry to begin with.
Bottom Line: I Loved It!...8 out of 10 stars!
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Here's your story: Na Moon-Hee initially stars as the titular Granny. She portrays a woman in her golden years who soon finds herself becoming less & less relevant to the family she helped raised and the world she now lives in. While reflecting on her life on one particularly bleak day, she accidentally stumbles across a means to turn back the clock 50 years. Nothing else has changed with the world, but she's now stuck in the body of her former 20 year old self.
The majority of the early part of this film plays like a straightforward drama about the life of a granny and her surrounding family. Na Moon-Hee is a fine, fine actress whose primary job is to set this entire film in motion by portraying the prototypical Korean entertainment matriarch; she's wise and kind and cares for her extended family, but she's also stuck in her ways, nags a lot, and seemingly doesn't have much left to look forward to in life. Na Moon-Hee spends most all of her screen time simply establishing these basic familiar traits & familial relationships, while endeavoring to provide a good deal of viewer sentiment towards the plight of her ever-aging character.
A little while in, the change from 70 year old woman to 20 year old girl occurs, and a new actress takes over in the Granny role. Shim Eun-Kyung gets the role of "Young Granny" and is ultimately the star of this film. She's dually tasked with playing an adorable young girl from the past mixed with a modern older woman from the present, while frequently having to call upon and blend the traits of both. It's a rather juicy part (for a rom-com melodrama) that is crucial to the overall success of this film, and Eun-Kyung does not disappoint. She is very impressive throughout this film right from the moment she bursts onto the scene.
Things get pretty amusing as soon as Young Granny shows up and starts to realize what has happened to her. After some initial shock, then acceptance, she quickly gets busy taking full advantage of the opportunity at hand; Young Granny moves right back in with her family under the guise of an anonymous young boarder, and sets off on completing a proper 'Fantasy To Do List' (i.e. go on a shopping spree, join a band, find romance, etc). After soaking in all that her newfound youth has to offer, and avoiding detection as long as possible, Young Granny has to eventually choose between continuing on as a 20 year old or reverting back to her older self. And, this being a Korean film, there's probably going to be some melodrama involved with her decision.
All in all, everything falls into place quite well with this little flick. It will occasionally meander along from one set piece to another, but everything is kept moving along expediently enough. All of the auxiliary characters were relevant and solid when called upon and there are no real antagonists to speak of to get in the way of things. This movie does tend to play like a mostly lighthearted Korean fantasy TV melodrama that's condensed and edited up into a 2 hour format, and, it is shamelessly sweet and sappy whenever it gets a chance to be so. But, it's also occasionally poignant & quite charming overall, and, it is often freakin' hilarious once it starts to heat up. The film does benefit considerably from a combination of several stellar performances and some sharp writing/editing/direction when necessary. And, perhaps this film's biggest attribute lies in its own ability to be somewhat self-deprecating; it often seems to delight in chiding a number of well-worn genre specific themes and common industry motifs, while simultaneously embracing many of those very same aspects in order to produce a simple, fun, & entertaining movie.
Summary: I've seen far better films this year (from Korea and elsewhere); more original films, more exciting films, more important films, etc. Nevertheless, I can't think of too many movies that I actually enjoyed more than 'Miss Granny'. It's solidly recommended no matter who you are or where you're from, but, you'll most definitely get more mileage out of it if you're a fan of &/or are familiar with the Korean entertainment industry to begin with.
Bottom Line: I Loved It!...8 out of 10 stars!
