My Old Ass ★★★★

Released: 27 Sep 2024

Director: Megan Park

Starring: Maisy Stella, Aubrey Plaza, Percy Hynes White, Maddie Ziegler

We so often wonder how our lives will turnout. What advice we might offer our younger selves and the roads we could have taken. This is taken to another level in Megan Park’s My Old Ass which focusses on Maisy Stella’s Elliot. While taking drugs with her friends she has an encounter with her older self, nearing 40 and not quite where younger Elliot thought she might be at that stage in her life.

It is a central premise full of intrigue and certainly a novel approach for a story of this type without sci-fi hijinks. Maisy Stella’s Elliot, is a young rebellious figure with a care free attitude, keen to enjoy the summer with her friends and not stress about what the future might hold. The appearance of Aubrey Plaza’s older version, upends her attitude and makes her see things differently, spending more time with her family, particularly her brothers. Older Elliot also issues a warning about her falling in love with Chad (Percy Hynes White), with Elliot trying her hardest to follow older Elliot’s advice when this begins to develop.

This is a quirky, heartfelt film, at under 90 minutes it is slight but packs a lot of ideas into its tight runtime. Maisy Stella is a revelation as younger Elliot, believably a younger version of the more jaded, cynical Elliot she encounters. Much of the film rests on Stella’s shoulders and she does an admirable job as we follow a summer on her family’s farm and her friendships. It may sound mundane yet there is a lightness of touch and tenderness to it, which is hard not to root for.

Moving towards its final moments, it builds a melancholic vibe and real sense of emotion. Megan Park is so effortlessly able to blend quirky, humorous moments with genuine heart and pathos. This is especially impressive given the majority is just set on and around the farm and lake, using the locations to build a sense of tranquillity and calm, punctuated by the arrival of the older Elliot. In truth Aubrey Plaza’s role is not as large as expected, only making her scenes more impactful and allowing the spotlight to rightly shine on Maisy Stella.

Built around a simple premise. My Old Ass is a funny unique take on coming-of-age films, with the performances and writing making it really work with a cast largely comprised of newcomers, showcasing their potential.