Miss Granny (2014) Movie Review

Miss Granny
Review by: Imfaerae

The main plot of this movie follows Oh Mal-soon, a grandmother who is switched into the body of her younger self and experiences her youth again. The story revolves around her opportunity to do something she loved but had to give up when she had a child at a young age. For me, the film also poses an interesting question. Would you make the same choices in life if you could do it all over again? It’s a premise I’ve seen before but it was still entertaining.

I thought the movie was going to be more of a romantic comedy but the romance elements felt like an afterthought. If you are looking for a true romantic movie, this isn’t it. This is a dramatic comedy with heartwarming and sincere moments. Miss Granny shines more as a film about family relationships. One of the things I enjoy about Korean films and dramas is the often heavy focus on family. 

Korean family dynamics are different than in America. Though in the US you may find multi-generational families living together, it is by far a rarer occurrence than in Korea. Filial duty is ingrained in Korean culture and Miss Granny touches on the subject from various sides. I enjoyed how the movie explored the various relationships of the grandmother and her relationships with her son, daughter-in-law and grandson.

Na Moon-hee’s depiction of the feisty grandma who would do anything for her family was endearing.  We should all have grandmothers like her. She was devoted to her family but it was her sass that stood out. Nothing is more entertaining than an elderly person who says and does whatever they want. I liked how the story showed the older generation. They’re not just a grandparent, a mother or a father but people that have lives and interests of their own. I think younger generations sometimes forget that. The teasing banter she had with her close friend Mr. Park was some of the funnier dialogue in the movie.

The best comedic aspects of this film came from watching Oh Mal-soon’s younger self, Oh Doo-ri talk and act like an elderly person though she’s only 20. Things an older person would say or do come off as pure comedy when a younger person does them. Shim Eun-kyung did a good job portraying a young woman with a full-fledged attitude of an old lady. Watching her gait was amusing and I especially enjoyed her character’s unsophisticated country way of speaking. I’m always uncertain if subtitles convey different aspects of Korean speech correctly but I believe I got the general idea of her dialect. The reactions she gets from her eccentric responses in various situations were funny.

Toward the end of the film it gets more serious and I was fine with that. Overall, it was a movie about how a person reacts to life and the decisions we make. I was thoroughly entertained by Oh Mal-soon’s journey and her realizations about her path in life.

On a side note, there’s a great cameo in this movie. Any true K-drama fan will recognize who I’m talking about. I found that particular scene hysterical. Well played Miss Granny, well played!