This beautiful movie takes a fun premise and expands it into something so much greater. Embedded in a plot full of hilarious situations and slapstick dialogue is a touching tale of a life long-lived, a family well-built, and difficulties hard-overcome. Without much more than a few brief flashes to the past and the incredibly emotional and soulful singing of our protagonist, a tragic but full life shines through the incredible acting of the lead actor, culminating in a story to relive her youth once more how she always dreamed it, all of it perfectly encapsulated in the final song "One More Time." Every plot line, character, and dream is perfectly set up without the viewer's notice, only to come back later on in the movie and hit you in the gut with emotions: sometimes overwhelming joy, and sometimes painfully beautiful tragedy.

At it's most basic, the movie delivers what the premise suggests: a fun comedy of an old grandmother in a young woman's body. The premise is well explored and delivers every moment you'd want from it. But on a deeper level, the movie finds great meaning and purpose in the transformation. Throughout the beginning, the protagonist's talents at singing when she was young is often reiterated, along with the occasional mention of her long forgotten dream of being a singer. When she suddenly regains her youth, not only is it meaningful on a physical and story level, it is meaningful to the protagonist herself, as she is given a chance to finally fulfill her dream after always doing what's best for her family.

Family is an incredibly important theme throughout the movie. Be it conflict or accord, arguments or appreciations, everyone is deeply connected in an important and visible way. This is beautifully portrayed in well-written and well-delivered dialogue. No conflict is accidental, no tension goes unexplored, and the deeper you delve into the family's true relationships, the more love you find woven into it. Amongst the love is tragedy: things taken from those who deserved so much better, sacrifices made in service of loved-ones. The bond between parent and child is so strong and striking it brought tears to my eyes. These moments are earned, buried beneath the everyday commotion until extraordinary circumstances unearth them, and that makes them all the more powerful.

Love, romantic love, is also deeply explored in the movie. Nothing is quite so simple as to have a "main lead" and second lead" or even a "villain," because every character's relationship and personality is so much more nuanced. An supposed enemy might, under different light, appear to be an intimate friend, and relationship decades old may hover directly on the border of love and unbreakable friendship. What is true love? What is just physical attraction? How do you know which is which? Perhaps these questions are unanswerable but we can still weave through them, finding their intricacies and changing with the situation. It's unlike any other romance you might encounter.

At the core of this movie- and what makes it so profoundly impactful- is soul. Feeling. Interactions are built on years of history, relationships on decades of connection. The acting perfectly displays the soul of each character, their past and their present shining through their words. Most incredible in the main lead's actor, who is perfectly convincing in the mannerisms of her actions and words, and who manages to layer every song she performs with so much emotion it stops you in your tracks. Every song that's performed carries great emotion and meaning, layered with the past and the personality of every character (but especially the main lead). I cannot express how perfectly the music in this movie accompanies, elevates, and reinforces the themes and stories and- most importantly- the soul. And it only gets better with every re-watch.

This is a movie with incredible depth where you least expect it. And by that I mean everywhere. Just as my rating suggests, it's a perfect story with perfect acting, perfect music, and perfect soul. The deeper you go, the more feeling and emotion you find, and for that it will always hold a place in my heart. I highly recommend this movie (which is now one of my all-time favorite movies), and implore you to watch it immediately.