Miss Granny (2018) Review

I'm not a big fan of Sarah Geronimo. I'd agree that she is an excellent singer and decent dancer but her acting hasn't strike me as that impressive. I guess I'm the type that wants a deeper story or something original. Sure Sarah Geronimo had movies that gross millions in the local box offices and maybe even abroad but sadly they don't cater to my taste. Most of the local films in the Philippines in general often has over used or original plot and bad acting that I'd rather spend my money watching something else.

The movie Miss Granny was sadly no different as I found out after leaving the theater from my sister is based off from an existing korean film that came out back in 2014 roughly around 4 years before this film came out.

And to add more salt to the wound the korean film Miss Granny has already been remade in other Countries before. So yes one could say this movie should have never been made as it easily fall to the usual local movie death trap that made a lot of the local films weak in my opinion.

I've included the poster of the original korean film for comparison. There's also a quick list of the remakes including the original korean film and the Philippine version and the year of each movies release with the Philippines being the latest thus far.

Philippines MISS GRANNY (2018)

Indonesia SWEET 20 (2017)

Thailand SUDDENLY 20 (2016)

Japan SUSPICIOUS GIRL (2016)

Vietnam SWEET 20 (2015)

China 20 ONCE AGAIN

Korea MISS GRANNY (2014)

Surprisingly though despite knowing all this and sitting down and writing this review, even watching bits and pieces of the original korean movie just to be fair I find the Philippine version of Miss Granny extremely well made and improves on the original plot in a lot of ways.

Sure a lot of the scenes in the film are taken from the korean version right down to the name of the photo studio. But thanks to better editing, revamp script, acting and casting this movie is probably better than the korean original and that's a rarity in pilipino films in general.

While the original korean is more about looks and what makes a girl beautiful the pilipino theme of family and staying strong in front of great hardship something a lot of pilipino can easily relate to and I got to give props on Sarah and the rest of the cast for making an actually believable granny in a young girls body. The way Sarah walks, talks and react on a lot of the scenes makes her a more believable granny with a young body. I'd dare say this is probably the best acting Sarah has ever given in any movie she probably made.

The music is nice overall but I'd probably wanted them to use the song track Pretty Woman like in the original korean movie on this one as it fits that particular scene more appropriately than what they had her but that's a matter of taste in my opinion than an actual flaw in the film.

Some of the flashback scenes could have probably been given more airtime and maybe certain parts as well but it might break the immersion on the overall narrative of the theme. I'm surprised how well cinematographically this film was edited something I only usually find in a MMFF movie entry. Also kudos to this film for not making this your typical boy meets girl love story or a love triangle of sorts.

The movie has an excellent way of mixing comedy, music and drama in this film. Sure the comedy is typical pinoy gag yet it's done well enough that it isn't over the top or cringe inducing something uncommon for local films these days.

Miss Granny is a film inspired by the korean movie of the same title yet has enough original content to make it its own thing yet at the same time probably being better than the original film it was based on. It had an excellent cast, great cinematography and acting that will guarantee to make you feel a steamroller of emotions. Its perfect for the whole family and anyone who are fans of a good story with a heart. An easy movie recommendation for anyone in my opinion and a must watch movie.