Minyeo-neun goerowo

"200 Pounds Beauty" (aka "Minyeo-neun goerowo") sort of is a modern day Cinderella story, although with a twist. And it does differentiate itself from the numerous South Korean romantic comedy movies, which in itself in an impressive feat.

Director Yong-Hwa Kim has managed to put together a great romantic comedy that didn't follow the standard recipe of how to make a successful rom-com. As such, "200 Pounds Beauty" was a nice breath of fresh air to the genre.

Think Cinderella and you have the core essence of the movie. Han-na (played by Ah-Jung Kim) is a large singer who is doing the singing for a lip syncing popstar, hidden away because of her size and appearance. Undergoing full cosmetic surgery Han-na becomes everything she dreamed of, but she loses herself along the way and turns into what she always hated.

This comedy is not the kind that will leave you flat out laughing, but instead it is a good story with subtle comedy that will make you feel good. The nice storyline is accompanied by equally nice acting performances.

A big thumbs up to Ah-Jung Kim for her performance in this movie. She really did carry the movie quite nicely.

"200 Pounds Beauty" is a benchmark in the South Korean romantic comedy genre, and it is a must watch if you enjoy this particular genre. It is a beautiful movie that will leave a lasting impression. Highly recommended that you sit down to watch this movie.

This movie was a big success in Korea when it first came out. I personally thought it was a bit over hyped after watching the movie, but it's still a pretty good movie with many aspects and elements that work. I found it sort of interesting how the main actress went though plastic surgery in real life and she goes through plastic surgery in this movie. The movie has a message that works and understandable, like how you won't know how certain people feels or going through without being in their shoes and to not be judgmental of other people. And has other messages as well. So for a simple plot the movie has depth for the most part. The movie comes off a bit shallow at times but for the most part it's a enjoyable film, just a bit overrated.

7.6/10

A sort-of romantic comedy, 200 Pounds Beauty, is a likable, although limited shot at romantic comedy popularity, sustained by a charismatic lead performance by Kim Ajoong and a high concept.

The story revolves around an obese woman who happens to be "the voice" of a popular singer in Corea. Of course, she doesn't look the part, so she just sings in the background. And he happens to be head over heels for her producer, who also happens to be friendly with her. Due to lack of confidence, she undergoes a radical total body plastic surgery procedure and is reborn at the pretty girl she thinks she needs to be to catch her crush. I think the story overall is a little mixed up and doesn't always do a great job of keeping conflicts clear. Sometimes I wasn't sure what the real conflict was with the main character and I find its wishy washy attitude towards societal standards of beauty, as well as plastic surgery, to be too anemic to appreciate. But the film does get many moments of comedy right. Special attention should be given to Kim Ajoong's portrayal of Kim Hana. Although at first I was a little annoyed by her "clumsy fat girl" antics, in the unbelievable fat suit, because I thought it was a negative stereotype of large bodied people, I came to appreciate her performance as she continued the same character after she becomes "beautiful". I loved how awkward her body language as the skinny girl she becomes is and there are some amusing bits of comedy that come from both her and others reacting to her new appearance.

I guess the big criticism I have is the lightweightedness of the story. Despite its romantic comedy billing, I still didn't feel like that much was at stake for Kim Hana, because I don't think the story effectively sold what it was that she cared about, in addition to splitting her interest in more than three directions. Furthermore, the producer character's position never becomes really clear. Many of the actors, being given limited characters, do an adequate job, but outside of the lead role, there's not much depth given to work with. Production value is high, as should be expected for a high-concept tentpole comedy and direction does a decent enough job of capturing a proper romantic comedy atmosphere.

In no way is anyone going to mistake 200 Pounds Beauty for high art, but its limited charms make for decent entertainment. I don't feel like the story is strong enough for the concept, but the execution is adequate enough and there's enough comedy present in the film to keep it floating through its running time. It also helps that Kim Ajoong turns out to be a good listen as well when she opens up her pipes to sing in the film. Thanks to her charming performance, I can give this one passing grade. It's not a special film, but basic romantic comedy entertainment that goes down easy and doesn't leave too big of an imprint in your mind. Decent. 6/10.

I will admit that I have not seen many Korean romantic comedies, so I can't say definitively how it compares to others. But I have definitely seen my fair share of U.S. romantic comedies. Frankly, the genre has become so clichéd, it's nearly impossible to find any decent new romantic comedies.

When I chose to watch "200 Pounds Beauty," I expected more of the same formulaic plot twists, etc. Yet I was pleasantly surprised at how beautifully produced this movie was. The actors did a superb job. My only contention is that there were several unexplained plot contents. I won't spoil it for any potential viewers, so I'll leave you to figure those out for yourselves.

Bottom line: if you want to watch a cute, funny and well done romantic comedy, then this is your movie. But make sure you have some Kleenex on hand! There are a few tugging-at-the-heart strings scenes.

This is a movie that follows a typical happy romantic comedy.. starts off happy, goes down.. back up.. and it hits the top and stays there. But then again, 200 pounds beauty is SO much more! On the surface it is already a great movie. The fat girl protagonist Hanna is very cute and kind, later she turns into beautiful and thin but still kind and innocent Jenny. So there's a bit of eyecandy, both cute and sexy throughout the whole movie. But then there's the funny bits, the movie has hilarious little kicks throughout the whole movie, making you laugh at all the right movies.

But then there's a deeper side. This movie talks about themes such as the superficial view of the world, how beauty becomes an obsession, how the most beautiful heart can hide inside a bigger girl, how people will give everything to a girl with beautiful face-- superficiality yet again.

The sad parts that touched deep to the heart of the film are very well scripted and acted.. I cried so many times watching it to see an 'ugly' girl turned beautiful, but having to give so much up and yet not quite happy with the shallow joys that this new body and face have given her.

A small disappointment however was that the story's villain did not do much and disappeared for the majority of the movie and out of the viewer's mind, rendering the character pretty useless and taking away a little something more the movie could have had.

Overall, a feel-good movie that is a definite must watch! It goes above all my initial expectations and is guaranteed to make you laugh, cry, love and think!