Uhm Jung-hwa fast-forwards 25 years in My Troublesome Star
by solstices
Gearing up a month ahead of its premiere, ENA’s upcoming rom-com My Troublesome Star (formerly My Golden Star) has delivered its first round of promotions, offering a sneak peek into the predicament of its titular heroine.
The teaser opens with the top star Im Se-ra, played by Jang Da-ah (Pyramid Game), taking center stage. Affectionately dubbed the nation’s first love, every product that Se-ra endorses immediately flies off the shelves. One night, Se-ra goes to sleep, dreaming of her fame and fortune… and then she wakes up in a whole new body. Her luscious locks have crimped into an ajumma’s perm, her impeccable makeup has turned cakey, and wrinkles now line her face. 25 years have flown past in a blink.
Our heroine stares at her reflection in shock, clasping her transformed face between her palms. The country’s beloved superstar has disappeared overnight, only to be replaced by an ordinary woman. She’s now Bong Cheong-ja, played by Uhm Jung-hwa (Doctor Cha), and her age has inexplicably doubled. Horrified that she’s now fifty years old with no memory of the in-between, Cheong-ja can barely get over the disbelief, her newly frumpy appearance at odds with the youthful whimsy of her bedroom.
Unaccustomed to the sudden loss of everything she’s ever known, Cheong-ja can’t help but cling onto her star-studded past. “You know me, right?” she asks hopefully, lowering her sunglasses. Cue a perplexed stare from Song Seung-heon (Player 2: Master of Swindlers) as the traffic officer Dokgo Cheol. “Am I supposed to?” he asks, eyebrows raised. LOL.
Surely this must all be a hidden camera prank, Cheong-ja thinks. Or it must be some sort of newfangled scam — how else can her sudden aging be explained away? Unfortunately for Cheong-ja, she’s stuck in her current iteration for the time being. To her credit, she does try her best to adjust, though it sure seems she’d rather be slicing something else up rather than the vegetables on the cutting board.
The longer Cheong-ja stays stuck in her new body, the more she starts to spiral. Everything she’s worked for has been snatched away from her in an instant, after all. Alas, whether it’s throwing dried leaves at a bewildered Cheol, landing herself in hospital, or getting dragged away by security, Cheong-ja’s woeful tantrums are ultimately futile.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a rom-com if that was all to the tale, so naturally Cheong-ja’s outbursts wind up piquing Cheol’s curiosity. “The celebrity Im Se-ra?” he muses, gazing sidelong at Cheong-ja. Will he figure out the secret behind Se-ra’s transformation? And will Cheong-ja be able to make peace with her new self?
Directed by PD Choi Young-hoon (Pandora: Beneath the Paradise), with scripts written by Park Ji-ha (Miss Night and Day), My Golden Star is slated for an August 18 premiere.
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