Welcome back to Movie Recaps.
Today I will show you a comedy, fantasy film from 2014, titled Miss Granny.
Spoilers ahead!
Watch out and take care.
Oh Mal-soon is an elderly widower that lives with her family: her son Hyun-chul, who is
a university professor; her daughter-in-law Ae-ja, her grandson Ji-ha who is in a band;
and her granddaughter Ha-na.
Mal-soon lived a very difficult life, having lost her husband when young and raised her
son alone while working to support them.
Nowadays though, she's stubborn, shameless, and very controlling, always telling other
people how to do things and getting into arguments.
This is causing a lot of stress to Ae-ja, who is depressed and medicated.
At least Mal-soon isn't home 24/7, she also works with her childhood friend Mr. Park at
a café.
This café is often visited by a lady called Ok-ja, who Mal-soon considers a vixen.
The two of them are always arguing, and today isn't the exception: Ok-ja insults Mal-soon
and tries to flirt with Mr. Park, so Mal-soon ends up jumping on her to show her a lesson
in a more violent way.
Mr. Park tries to pull them apart and ends up injured in the process, so when he goes
home later, his daughter Na-young scolds him for always defending Mal-soon when he always
ends up hurt by her.
Mal-soon happens to show up at that moment with her purple umbrella and scolds her in
return for speaking like that to her own father, refusing to apologize for the injury when
Na-young asks her to.
Before leaving, both Mal-soon leaves a bag of peaches for Mr. Park, and he follows her
out to offer her a ride on his bike.
But Na-young doesn't understand how Mal-soon can be such a close friend of her father's
and not know he's allergic to peaches.
Meanwhile, at a local tv studio, music producer Seung-woo is frustrated with today's auditions.
All the new bands look and sound the same, putting too much attention on their looks
instead of singing with their souls.
His assistant Soo-yeon points out young people can't sing with their souls and says that
maybe they should hire an elderly ghost singer and let the kids lip-sync.
The next day, while Mal-soon scolds Ae-ja for doing the cooking wrong, Ji-ha tries to
sneak out to go to an audition, but both women catch him in the act.
Ae-ja tells him off, reminding him his future is in studying, but Mal-soon interrupts her
and gives Ji-ha some money so he can go out and pursue his dreams.
After he's gone, Ae-ja tries to tell Mal-soon that she should let her be in charge of the
education of her own children, but Mal-soon doesn't listen: she doesn't approve of Ae-ja
being stressed when her husband has a good salary and she stays home doing chores.
She thinks she has it easy compared to what she had to go through when raising Hyun-chul
alone.
In the meantime, Ji-ha's audition doesn't go well - the musicians are good, but the
lead singer doesn't sing well because she spent all night clubbing and never quit smoking.
When Ji-ha calls her out for not taking this seriously, she simply quits.
In the evening, when Mal-soon returns home after going out for groceries, she finds Ae-ja
collapsed on the floor.
She's immediately taken to the hospital, and after she goes through surgery, her doctor
tells Hyun-chul that his wife needs to rest in a stress-free environment.
When they return home, he discusses the idea of sending Mal-soon to a retirement home with
his kids: Ha-na agrees, but Ji-ha doesn't.
Mal-soon hears this discussion and while she is upset, she accepts her fate for the sake
of Ae-ja.
Hyun-chul promises her that he'll bring her back to the house when Ae-ja starts feeling
better.
Mal-soon may've accepted this arrangement, but her mood still suffers from it.
She isn't her usual spunky self at the café, and it only gets worse when she's approached
by an angry woman whose family lost their restaurant after they helped Mal-soon many
years ago, when she was still a single mother trying to survive.
They gave her shelter and food and she repaid them by stealing the recipe of their secret
soup and opening her own place in the same town.
Mal-soon tries to leave the café, not wanting to confront this issue, but the woman has
been looking for her for years and won't let her go so easily.
She jumps on Mal-soon to attack her, but Mal-soon doesn't defend herself, so it's up to Mr.
Park to pull them apart.
While he keeps hold of the woman, Mal-soon explains she did what she had to do to give
her son a good life.
In the evening, Mal-soon is waiting for the bus while crying when she receives a call
from Ji-ha, who asks her if she could take him and his band out for dinner.
Mal-soon accepts and they agree to meet at the station, but before going there, she can't
help stopping by a photo studio that has a portrait of Audrey Hepburn on its window.
She decides to go inside and get a nice picture taken for her future altar, and the photographer
promises he'll make her look fifty years younger.
After she's done, she catches the bus, where three young men hit on her.
Mal-soon is very confused by this until she sees her reflection and discovers what has
happened: she's now back into her twenty-year-old body.
After stopping by the pharmacy to ask for tranquilizer pills, Mal-soon remembers she's
supposed to meet her grandson, but when she arrives at the station, she doesn't dare approach
them with this new face.
Ignoring Ji-ha's calls to her cellphone, Mal-soon goes back to the photo studio only not to
find it there.
There's a restaurant on that building instead, and the owner tells her she's had it for ten
years and she's never heard of a photo studio in the area.
Mal-soon doesn't return home that night, which worries her family and Mr. Park, but the police
tell them it's too soon to fill a report yet.
She actually spends the night in a community center, and as she wakes up, she realizes
her body doesn't have usual morning aches.
Seeing all the other old ladies makes her determined not to be like that again and she
decides to enjoy this newfound youth, so she goes out shopping for new clothes and gets
a haircut like Audrey Hepburn, paying it all with money she gets from the ATM with her
debit card.
Afterward, she goes to Mr. Park's house and asks to rent the room they're offering, telling
them her name is Oh Doo-ri, a mispronunciation of Audrey.
After settling in, she goes to her family's house and leaves a note at the door to let
them know she's ok.
The next day she hangs out at Mr. Park's café, where she looks out of place because if filled
with elderly people.
Mal-soon decides to sing next at the karaoke after Ok-ja's mediocre performance, proving
to be an excellent singer who puts every emotion in her voice.
Her act is seen by Ji-ha, who has come by to see if Mr. Park had heard from his grandma;
and by Seung-woo and Soo-yeon, who were in the area looking for new talent and enter
the café when they hear Mal-soon's voice.
After the song is over, she receives a standing ovation from the crowd, but Mal-soon runs
away because she is afraid Ji-ha may recognize her.
Both Ji-ha and Seung-woo go after her, wanting to hire her, but she's nowhere in sight.
Later in the evening, when Ji-ha visits Mr. Park at his house, he finds Mal-soon there
as well and takes the chance to invite her to go out for a drink.
Ji-ha offers Mal-soon for her to be the new vocalist of his band, and because it hurts
her to see her grandson so sad, Mal-soon accepts.
The next day, Mal-soon meets Ji-ha's band and is terrified by their metal music and
looks.
She thinks it's all noise and what they should be singing is more a cheerful tune.
The guys don't like the idea very much, but having Mal-soon wink and blow a kiss at them
is enough for them to change their minds.
They first play in the park, and people love them so much that their tip jar is full of
money.
Some days later, they get a gig at a bar, where the musicians stop wearing metal-style
clothes and match Mal-soon in cuteness, and they are a success there as well.
One night, Seung-woo finds Mal-soon arguing with a mother on the train, so when she gets
off, he follows her through the streets, but he isn't sneaky enough and is quickly noticed
by Mal-soon, who thinks he is a stalker.
After telling him off, she tries to walk away, but Seung-woo grabs her by the shoulder to
stop her because he still wants to talk.
This accidentally lowers her blouse, so Mal-soon starts crying and yelling and goes to the
police to accuse Seung-woo of trying to touch her inappropriately.
The cops take Seung-woo away and as soon as they are far enough, Mal-soon drops the act
and looks pleased with herself.
The following day, Mal-soon with her purple umbrella goes to her family's house because
Ji-ha has invited her over for lunch.
Ae-ja is looking healthier and welcomes her with perfect manners, but Ha-na is very rude
to her, which Ji-ha blames on their grandmother - hearing this hurts Mal-soon a bit.
While waiting for lunch to be ready, she asks for a tour of the house and convinces Ji-ha
to show her his grandmother's bedroom.
At first, she only pretends to be curious, but when Ae-ja calls Ji-ha to help her with
the dishes, Mal-soon takes the chance to search her dresser for her stamp, which she needs
because her family has blocked her debit card.
In the meantime, Hyun-chul and Mr. Park are at the police station watching some recordings
from security cameras that show someone using Mal-soon's debit card to get money from the
ATM, but the face can't be seen because of a purple umbrella.
This makes them believe Mal-soon has been kidnapped, and while Mr. Park doesn't say
anything, he does recognize the umbrella.
Back in the house, the family is having lunch when Hyun-chul returns home, and out of habit,
Mal-soon welcomes him, making everyone watch her like a weirdo.
Mal-soon covers up her slip by rushing to the bathroom, and from there, she spies on
the family, seeing how Hyun-chul refuses to eat because of his current emotional state.
The next day, Mr. Park watches Mal-soon closely to confirm her umbrella is the same he saw
on the security cameras.
After she leaves for the day, he enters her room and rummages through her things, finding
Mal-soon's dentures and old shoes.
Meanwhile, Seung-woo continues to turn down people at auditions until Mal-soon and her
band show up.
He wastes no time and offers them a deal, which the band, of course, accepts.
When Mal-soon returns home, she finds the bag with her dentures hanging on the clothesline.
Mr. Park sneaks behind her and tries to knock her out, but Mal-soon quickly overpowers him
and ties him up instead.
That doesn't stop him from calling her out, revealing he thinks she's killed Mal-soon
and asking her to kill him too because he can't live without her.
When he was thirteen, he lost his parents and Mal-soon's family took him in, and Mal-soon's
smile would always help him stay strong.
Hearing this, Mal-soon takes pity on him and smiles at him, asking him why he doesn't recognize
her - after watching her for a moment, Mr. Park finally realizes the woman in front of
him is Mal-soon herself.
The following day, the two of them spend some time together at the café.
Mal-soon tells him about the upcoming concert her band will be at, which means she can finally
fulfill her dream of being a famous singer.
When Mr. Park makes an unfunny joke, Mal-soon force-feeds him some of the shaved ice she's
been having, and this act is seen from another table by Ok-ja, who now thinks Mr. Park is
dating a woman much younger than him.
Afterward, Mal-soon asks him for a favor so her family won't worry about her anymore,
so Mr. Park invites Hyun-chul and Ae-ja to his home and tells them he's seen Mal-soon
and that she's fine.
Mr.Park explains that she's living the life she's always wanted and that she needs her
debit card to be working again.
Meanwhile, Na-young is at the community center, where Ok-ja is telling her about her father
dating a woman too young for him and how she's probably after his property.
Na-young doesn't want to believe it at first, but when she returns home and sees her father
exercising to feel young again, she thinks Ok-ja may be onto something.
The next morning, Mr. Park picks up Mal-soon at the bus stop, trying to look cool while
handing her a flower.
Some teenagers nearby laugh at how ridiculous he looks, and Mal-soon calls him out for it
as well, but she accepts the ride anyway.
Moments later, they arrive at the tv studio where the band will be making their debut
on screen.
Mal-soon sings from the heart as she remembers her husband, falling in love with him and
losing him, and the trouble she went through to raise her son alone.
By the time the song ends, she's crying, but the public has loved every second of it.
A couple of days later, the band goes to a water park with Mr. Park, Seung-woo, and Soo-yeon.
When they get in the special pool, a giant wave makes Mal-soon and Mr. Park slip and
almost drown - Mr. Park ends up passed out on the shore somewhere, and Mal-soon is saved
by Seung-woo, who takes her to a nearby table so she can rest.
He tries to get to know her better, but Mal-soon avoids the question, saying she'll reveal
more about herself in the future as she finds herself attracted to Seung-woo.
Their light chat is interrupted when Seung-woo notices Mal-soon's foot is hurt, and Mal-soon
freaks out a little when she notices that the area around the bleeding cut is getting
wrinkly.
Claiming she'll go to the hospital, she rushes out of the park, and later at home, Mr. Park
does a test: he pokes her foot with a pin and that area also gets wrinkly around the
wound.
At that moment, Na-young enters the room and finds them in what she considers a compromising
position.
Not being able to take it anymore, she grabs Mal-soon and throws her in the backyard, telling
her to get out.
Mr. Park defends Mal-soon and ends up arguing with his daughter, making her cry, so Mal-soon
decides to leave not to cause any more trouble.
Mr. Park wants to go after her, but Na-young grabs him and doesn't let him go.
The next day, Mr. Park is so worried about not hearing from Mal-soon that he goes to
see Hyun-chul and tells him the truth.
However, Hyun-chul doesn't believe him and thinks he's suffering from dementia or depression,
so he tries to call a doctor.
Mr. Park gives up and returns home, where he stays all day in his room, lamenting having
lost Mal-soon.
Speaking of Mal-soon, after receiving a call from Seung-woo, she ends up staying at his
apartment.
They share dinner and a nice long chat where Seung-woo keeps trying to flirt with her,
but Mal-soon can't allow herself to give in to a man so much younger than her, so she
keeps pouring alcohol until he drinks himself to sleep.
Back in the family home, Ae-ja is taking anti-depressants again, and she can't help thinking of Mal-soon
scolding her for it.
The next day, the band is recording their first single, but another producer makes Seung-woo
realize that this kind of slow song doesn't fit the band's image and he has to find them
a composer.
This angers Ji-ha, who wrote that song in the first place, and he rushes out of the
building.
Mal-soon tries to stop him, trying to make him understand that Seung-woo only wants the
best for the band.
Jealous, Ji-ha accuses her of sleeping with Seung-woo because he heard she spent the night
at his place.
Mal-soon starts slapping him for it, but then she takes him out for lunch to turn him down
properly.
Sometime later, Mal-soon meets with Mr. Park at the park.
He's worried because he doesn't receive updates from her anymore, and he can also guess she
likes someone else now.
He's green with envy but accepts it because he wants Mal-soon to be happy.
After gifting him another bag of peaches, Mal-soon asks him to take good care of Ok-ja,
so Mr. Park has to inform her that actually, Ok-ja fainted last week from a cerebral hemorrhage
and she's now hospitalized.
Later at night, Hyun-chul checks on Ji-ha, who is composing a new song for the band.
He tells his son the song is very good and wishes him good luck, but before leaving,
he can't help noticing a picture of the band.
He then goes to search for some old pictures of him as a baby and realizes how similar
the woman from the band and his own mother look.
Some days later, Mal-soon has a date with Seung-woo at the park, and when he confesses
his feelings, she tells him she can't accept them because the age difference between them
is too big.
Seung-woo thinks she means he's too old for her.
When they're done, he drops her at the hospital, gifting her a hair clip and kissing her forehead
before leaving.
Mal-soon enters the building, intending to visit Ok-ja, but it's too late: she's already
dead.
She's so upset by this news that she leaves without noticing Mr. Park is there as well.
The day of the big show finally comes and Ji-ha is running late because he is stuck
in traffic.
Seeing as the cab won't be moving any time soon, he gets out and grabs a public bicycle,
which he begins riding like a madman through the streets.
This recklessness has its consequences: Ji-ha is suddenly hit by a truck and taken to the
hospital.
When the news reach the band, Seung-woo wants to cancel their performance, but Mal-soon
refuses: she thinks the right thing to do is make the world hear Ji-ha's song and sing
it so loud he'll feel better.
The band accepts to perform and the song is received well, making it a big success.
As soon as they're done, Mal-soon rushes to the hospital and arrives just in time.
It turns out Ji-ha's blood type is AB, which nobody in the family has except her, so she
offers herself up for a transfusion.
This worries Mr. Park and he drags her out to have a private talk with her, reminding
her this is going to make her old again and she'll lose the chance to live her dream.
Her grandson's life is more important though, and as she goes back to the main hallway to
find the doctors, she finds Hyun-chul instead, who has been listening to their conversation.
He confesses he knows who she is and asks her to leave because she already sacrificed
her dreams for his sake, so it wouldn't be fair for her to do it again for her grandson.
Once again, she refuses, saying it's ok to be old if she gets to be with her family.
The two of them cry and hug before Mal-soon is taken to the operating room, where she's
connected to Ji-ha to transfer the blood as she slowly transforms back into her elderly
body.
A year later, the band continues to be a success with a healthy Ji-ha and Ha-na as the new
vocalist.
Their parents and Mal-soon go to all their concerts to support them, and Ae-ja and Mal-soon
are getting along better now.
After the concert is over, Mal-soon sees Seung-woo from afar and decides not to approach him,
but as she leaves, he is surprised to see the same hairpin he had gifted her in the
hair of an old lady.
Meanwhile, Mr. Park finds the photo studio, which this time has a picture of James Dean
in the window.
After getting his picture taken, he goes to the bus stop to pick up Mal-soon, revealing
his new, handsome young face when he takes off his helmet.
The teenagers that made fun of him last time now look at him in awe, but he only has eyes
for Mal-soon, who gets on the bike with him and scolds him for never telling her he was
allergic to peaches.