Yet, that just speaks all the more to Sunny’s charm, in the fact that the friendship between the girls is so compelling that any romance is merely a detractor from the bonds between these girls. So that means I’m usually averse to movies that don’t seem to advertise a romantic plotline. Let me just premise this review with the fact that I am a romance / romantic comedy junkie. Along the way, Na-Mi manages to find herself as well, bringing back meaning and purpose to her life once again. And so, Na-Mi embarks on a journey to find her all the other five members of Sunny, a journey filled with happiness, sorrows, and plenty of memories. One day, she bumps into her high school friend, Ha Choon-Hwa ( Jin Hee-kyung / teen – Kang So-ra), at the hospital, who asks her if she can round up their group of friends, Sunny, from high school.
Quick summary: Lim Na-Mi (Yoo Ho-Jeong / teen – SHIM Eun-kyung) is a housewife whose life seems to revolve around her family, from her daughter to her husband to her mother. Which of course is completely understandable considering that it contains a perfect trifecta of acting, directing, and writing, all of which combine to make it one of the most memorable Korean movies I have watched to date. A surprising box office success when it was released, Sunny was the second highest grossing Korean movie in Korea in 2011, and the twelfth highest grossing Korean movie in South Korea’s history. Featuring a large cast of characters, from both the teen and adult years (with veterans like Yoo Ho-Jeong and rising stars like Kang So-ra), Sunny is a heartwarming story for all ages that focuses on friendship over romance, and leaves you feeling as if you have grown up with the girls over the course of the movie. Sunny (2011) is one of those rare movies that can make you laugh, cry, and laugh while crying in the course of a mere two hours.