Review: My Old Ass (2024)


At times heartfelt, yet worldly enough to never feel pretentious or preachy, My Old Ass is thoroughly modern and deeply affecting. Freshly out of high school and college bound, 18-year-old Elliott (Maisy Stella of the series Nashville) takes mushrooms with her friends in the woods one night and has a hallucination that she meets her 39-year-old self (international treasure Aubrey Plaza). The premise is silly and fun, but writer/director Megan Park soon steers us into troubled waters immediately following this strange one night stand. 

In the able hands of Park, we care that Elliott is leaving her home on a cozy cranberry farm for the big city. We care that she hasn't taken the time to appreciate her mother and father or her brothers. When her future self warns young Elliott not to hang out with a boy named Chad (Percy Hynes White, of Wednesday fame), we care that she finds herself drawn to him anyway. What starts as a light-hearted mushroom trip becomes a poignant tale about growing up and trying not to leave too much of yourself behind. If it all sounds like teen melodrama, it is...to an extent. But the film, which runs a mere 89 minutes, isn't concerned with manufactured angst, and seems to know that time is fleeting--thus spending every second of its running time going about the business of bringing this story to a satisfying conclusion that resonates in a big way. If there's a shortcoming, it's that we don't get enough of Aubrey Plaza, but the movie is wise to leave us wanting more. 

My Old Ass is funny, but it's more than that. It's incredibly approachable, conveying teen life in an honest way, but it also has the wisdom of age and maturity, and the regret that comes with it. The film encourages us to live in the moment and appreciate each and every day that we have. How many movies at the local multiplex can say the same? There's so much to love here, and it's destined to be a cult classic as more people find it. 

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