Would things be better or worse if your older self could give you advice in the moment, nullifying hindsight? Newly turned 18-year-old Elliott (Maisy Stella) is about to find out. On her birthday, the now legal-aged adult opts to spend time with her besties Ruthie (Maddie Ziegler) and Ro (Kerrice Brooks) instead of a modest celebration with her family. What do they do? Mushrooms of course, the perfect dessert after she has finally hooked up with her longtime crush, Chelsea (Alexandria Rivera).
The hallucinogens bring Elliott in contact with her older, 39-year-old adult self (Aubrey Plaza). With young Elliott ready to leave behind her farm life and start journey anew at college in the bright lights of big city Toronto, her adult version encourages her to slow down and live in the now by cherishing family and the place she was raised. The biggest piece of advice the old guard gives the youngster is to stay away from a boy she has yet to meet named Chad (Percy Hynes White). Of course, he comes onto the scene quickly after, and the 18-year-old is forced to wrestle with what the heart wants and what the older head wants.
After an impressive feature debut from writer and director Megan Park in the underseen The Fallout, she follows up with a movie in My Old Ass that shares a few thematic similarities in a coming-of-age framework albeit with a more whimsical touch. It’s a movie that emotionally asks a lot of its young actress Stella to carry, and her ability to do so positions My Old Ass as another under-the-radar goodie helmed by Park.
Slowing down and enjoying what’s around you is a focus the old Elliott gives to her younger counterpart, and the beautiful Canadian backdrop allows for these things to stand out. There’s something mesmerizing and mystical about the expansive lakes and countryside found in Park’s movie, not to be overlooked considering the premise of this movie. In a tight 89 minutes, the director shows patience allowing events to progress at a steady pace.
Accurately capturing the way young people talk as a writer/director well outside of the focused generation group isn’t easy, but two movies in, I’d say Park has a good handle of Gen Z. With a movie like My Old Ass, it is predicated on how believable the dialogue is and how authentic the characters feel as opposed to any airtight story beats (of which one or two are predictable by a certain point, though Park manages to subvert expectations for a while with the simple choice of a certain name). Feel is the keyword here, because obviously at face value someone’s older self leaving their contact info in their younger self’s phone and holding normal conversations doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. However, seeing it from another vantage point actually works well, and it’s a testament to Park that My Old Ass can be analyzed in depth through two points of view.
Plaza’s the recognizable name and persona on the poster, and despite entertaining and diverse turns in work such as the underappreciated Ingrid Goes West, Legion, and Black Bear, many still see April Ludgate in everything she appears in. Compared to those other movies her degree of difficulty here is lesser, but an emotionally resounding climax is driven by her mannerisms and delivery. Still, she takes a rightful backseat to the debuting Stella. The young actress has screen presence abound, phenomenal at being relatable at the age as well as slightly hateable (most of us were at least a smidge) and you can see her character working through the gears as she questions what she thought was so guaranteed about herself in her sexuality. For a movie clocking in slightly under 90 minutes, there isn’t a weak performance to be found. Stella’s chemistry with the angelic White goes a long way in falling for My Old Ass’ spell. Hard not to see bright things in each of their futures.
While it may not trailblaze any new thematic ground in the genre it inhabits, My Old Ass uses an unorthodox setup to create a heartfelt watch. The cringe title is probably ass as the kids say, but My Old Ass secures a spot as one of the better coming-of-age films in recent memory.
B
Photo credits go to impawards.com, empire.com, screenrant.com, and mashable.com.
My Old Ass is now streaming on Amazon Prime.
MMJ 
Yeah I agree, that is one awkward title. But I really like Aubrey Plaza so I kinda want to see this even if it sounds familiar
Good movie that doesn’t overstay its welcome either with a quick runtime. Plaza is great but this is def a breakthrough role for Stella too.
Yeah, I enjoyed this. I was slightly surprised that Aubrey Plaza only appeared in two scenes, given how heavily she was in the marketing, but it’s a good film.
Absolutely, I know I said the same thing to Tom but I really think one of the biggest strengths of this film is that it doesn’t overstay its welcome and moves quickly without sacrificing pathos.