Suspicious: Mengjun, played by Yang Zishan, after a photo booth slices 50 years off her age. '€˜20, Once Again

What would an elderly lady do after finding herself at the perfect age '€” and with the perfect physical appearance needed to realize her long forgotten dreams?

Find the answer to that question more or less summarizes 20, Once Again '€” a Chinese remake of Miss Granny, the South Korean blockbuster from last year.

Director Leste Chen made the remake, currently screening in Indonesia, subtler and more artistic than the original '€” and kept all the ingredients for a fantasy romantic comedy that Hollywood would be happy to regurgitate.

20, Once Again has a happy, positive message, decent talents who don'€™t waste screen time '€” and a slow, controlled pace that creates good-natured entertainment.

In the film, Grace Guei (Gua Ah-leh) plays Shen Mengjun, a sassy 70-year-old woman who lives with her only son, Guobin (Zhao Lixin).

Her blind love for her son, a college professor, and grandson Qianjin, a musician, (Lu Han) combines with her constant nagging of other women in the house '€” ending in family strife.

As a solution, Grandma has to temporarily relocate to a retirement home.

Dejected, Mengjun walks into an ancient photo studio in an alley that she never knew existed before. Thinking of leaving her family a photo for her funeral, she takes a picture of herself while remembering the prime of her beauty.

All in the family: Grace Guei (center) plays Shen Mengjun, a sassy 70-year-old woman who lives in disharmony with her family. '€˜20, Once Again'€™

She walks out of the photo studio not realizing that she has been de-aged 50 years '€” until she sees her reflection.

In her new body, played by breakout star Yang Zishan, Mengjun finds freedom to live the way she wants and to be selfish about rediscovering the youth she lost when she became a mother and then a widow.

Things get confusing when Mengjun, who changes her name to Meng Lijun as a disguise, gets romantic attention from the boys as she pursues her dream to become a singer.

It'€™s creepy enough to see her lifetime friend and admirer Li Dahai (Wang Deshun) rediscover his first love. The grandson also wants her to become the singer for his rock band and gets jealous of Lijun'€™s handsome music producer, Mr. Tan (Chen Bolin, also known as Wilson Chen).

Although Lijun'€™s prim-and-proper values appear comical at times, they touch sensitive issues that plague a society that nowadays shows less respect to elders.

Korean powerhouse CJ Entertainment invested in both versions of the film, conspicuously aiming at wider audiences in the region. The film was intended to be produced side-by-side with its Korean counterpart, but Leste Chen couldn'€™t fit it in his schedule.

If the Korean version has more gags and is a bit '€œlouder'€, the Chinese characters tend to hold in their emotions, which gives a bigger impact to the whole story.

Other differences are that in this film, Mengjun and Goubin resolve their issues in an explicit, positive fashion and Leste Chen gives the audience a fun surprise at the ending.

There are also many emotional moments '€” in both films '€” to which parents and elders can relate.

This is a movie that has something for every family member. Just like those who are young at heart and opt to live without regrets, 20, Once Again is the kind of movie that is ageless.

_________________________

20, Once Again

Director: Leste Chen
Cast: Yang Zishan, Grace Guei, Chen Bolin, Lu Han
Producer: CJ E&M Film Division
Running time: 131 minutes
Language: Mandarin with subtitles
Rating: PG 13