My Old Ass

"My Old Ass" ain't what it might appear to be. Despite its low-brow title & silly central premise it's not a gawdy role-reversal comedy but an intelligent teen drama... in which Aubrey Plaza has a surprisingly minor support role while lesser-known Maisy Stella takes the lead (very well) as a Canadian farm-girl about to leave for uni, who on her 18th b'day does 'shrooms... 'hallucinating' Plaza as her 39yr old self, bringing advice from the future, especially about the disarmingly charming Percy Hynes White (good). With her second movie as writer / director Megan Park defies expectations, to deliver a gently enjoyable parable that'll doubtless be adored by its target teenage audience.

Greetings again from the darkness. Eighteen-year-old Elliott is counting down the twenty-two days remaining until she leaves home for her freshman year of college. For anyone who was once 18 or has raised an 18-year-old, you know that 22 days is the future. Writer-director Megan Park follows up her excellent feature film debut, THE FALLOUT (2021), with a different tone, albeit another one that focuses on the stress of being a teenager.

Maisy Stella landed the role of Daphne on the series "Nashville" at a very young age, and even got to sing on the show with her sister Lennon. Her role as Elliott is her feature film debut, and she proves to be quite charming in front of the camera, with a nice screen presence. A camping trip with her friends Ro (Kerrice Brooks) and Ruthie (Maddie Ziegler) leads to a trip on mushrooms that has the friends hallucinating, while something altogether more extreme happens with Elliott. Coming face-to-face with one's future self while sitting on a log in the woods can only be described as fantastical.

Aubrey Plaza plays from-the-future thirty-nine-year-old (not 40!) Elliott, and though she doesn't have much screen time, her trademark snark fits well, and the scenes with both Elliotts are quite fun. However, this isn't the typical Hollywood body swap/share. The cool twist is that the situation allows for the age-old unsolvable dilemma: what advice would your older self give your younger self if that were possible? While attempting to walk a fine line, the wisdom passed along includes be nice to your mom and your family, and understand that "time goes by so fast". One final bit of counseling involves 'avoiding Chad'. At this point, young Elliott had no idea who Chad is or why she should avoid, but of course, she finds out quickly.

Chad (Percy Hynes-White, "Wednesday") turns out to be a college student working on the family cranberry farm. He's also exceedingly nice and Elliott struggles mightily against falling hard for him. Yes, this is the same Elliott who we've seen in intimate situations with local barista Chelsea (Alexandria Rivera). At its core, this is a contemporary story where a teenager is searching for identity and meaning. Other supporting cast members include Maria Dizzia as mom, Al Goulem as dad, and Seth Isaac-Johnson and Carter Trozzolo as Elliott's brothers - one addicted to golf, the other obsessed with actress Saoirse Ronan (complete with a funny visual).

Some cliches are almost necessary in this type of story, but a mushroom trip featuring a Justin Bieber sequence to "One Less Lonely Girl" is both funny and creative. Offering advice to one's younger self in an attempt to save her from pain is understandable, but can we figure out life at age 18 even if we cheat and get input from our 'middle-aged' self? In fact, what filmmaker Park has done is create a dual coming of age story - one for teens and one for adults. And if you don't like the messages ... well ... at least eat your salmon while it's still around!

In select theaters on September 13, expanded release on September 20, and wide release on September 27, 2024.

If you had the chance to speak with your future self, what would you discuss? That's the opportunity unexpectedly presented to 18-year-old Elliott (Maisy Stella), the daughter of a Canadian cranberry farmer who's about to leave her rural home to attend college in Toronto, a new chapter in her life that she anxiously awaits. To commemorate the occasion, Elliott and her two best friends (Kerrice Brooks, Maddie Ziegler) decide to celebrate by imbibing in festivities involving a brew of magic mushrooms. However, much to her surprise, while in her altered state of consciousness, Elliott meets her 39-year-old self (Aubrey Plaza), who provides the teen with an insightful look into her future. Much of their conversation focuses on things that her younger self could stand to work on, but, perhaps the most significant topic of discussion centers on a warning to avoid involvement with an as-yet-unmet young man named Chad (Percy Hynes White). Not long thereafter, though, Elliott meets this mysterious stranger, who just happens to be a field hand hired to work on the farm for the summer. She quickly becomes smitten with the charming newcomer and wonders why her elder self so vehemently cautions her from getting to know him, advice she promptly ignores. This, of course, raises many pertinent questions, such as must we obediently accept such supposedly prophetic proclamations as gospel? Is our future indeed written in stone? And, even if our destiny is allegedly unalterable, should we unquestioningly abide by any cautions associated with it, or should we follow our gut instincts even knowing what the consequences might be? These are among the themes thoughtfully addressed in writer-director Megan Park's second feature, a sweet coming of age tale with a twist, one punctuated with gentle humor, heartfelt emotions, astute realizations and more than a few intriguing revelations. The picture is also beautifully filmed in the picturesque lake country surrounding Muskoka, Ontario, providing audiences with views of some spectacularly gorgeous scenery reminiscent of "On Golden Pond" (1981). However, despite these strengths, the film feels a little underdeveloped in several regards, particularly when it comes to various supporting characters and subplots, as well as some back story aspects of the elder Elliott's future existence. Given this offering's relatively short 1:29:00 runtime, it's somewhat baffling why the filmmaker didn't take a little extra time to more fully flesh out these elements (after all, it's not like the picture is overlong or tiresomely tedious). Nevertheless, those shortcomings aside, "My Old Ass" is a pleasant, inoffensive way to spend some time at the movies watching an uplifting, enlightening little story that nicely warms the heart and tells a story with an earnest message about how to approach living our lives. And it's hard to find much fault with that.

My Old Ass is a coming of age story that merges elements of a stoner comedy with some low tech time travel to great effect. It's so funny and easy to like but its greatest strength comes from the emotional core and the beautiful messages which come from it. It's a winning argument about how life is messy, scary and full of extremely painful heartbreak however, that only makes it all the more important to take the risks and enjoy the best moments.

Maisy Stella gives an amazing lead performance, starting off unaware of what she's about to leave behind which allows her to grow over the course of the film and her internal struggles as she discovers new things about herself unfold in a really earnest fashion. Aubrey Plaza is only on screen for two scenes and it's so impressive how funny she is in the first one and how much emotion she brings to the second. Percy Hynes White nails his part as someone who is supposed to be a red flag but his actions only confirm the opposite.

As writer & director Megan Park delivers a breezily entertaining film that consistently looks nice thanks to its scenic locations and ability to hone in on the smaller details that mean everything before delivering a well earned emotional gut punch at the end. All the dialogue feels authentic without ever coming across as unintentionally awkward and there's a lot of fun to be had in catching the small details Aubrey Plaza lets slip about this version of the future.

My Old Ass is an emotionally authentic, fantastical trip on a wave of good vibes. Director Megan Park has done something special here, juxtaposing a surreal concept on some very real dynamics of a young Elliott (Maisy Stella) growing up; and it is a fun, scenic trip worth taking. Without offering any spoilers, this wonderfully crafted transportation into the "what ifs" in the rear view of life, is propped up by a stellar cast - with a ride on the suspension of disbelief expertly kept afloat by Aubrey Plaza. It has a feeling of nostalgia that resonates across generations. The authentic connections between Elliott, Chad (Percy Hynes White), and her friends (Maddie Ziegler, Kerrice Brooks), and family moments solidly hit home - poignant scenes with brother Max (Seth Isaac Johnson) as a social conscience, whimsical Spencer (Carter Trozollo) , and with her mom (Maria Dizzia) and dad (Alain Goulem), bring surprising emotional depths on a vehicle of relatable, and well delivered comedy. We came in for a short trip, and wound up wishing we could hang out longer inside this unexpected cinematic, treat.