‘My Old Ass’ Might Be One of the Best Films of the Year
*No Spoilers*
Because I love film and indie movies in particular, I always love to keep an eye on the lineup of different film festivals. In fact, 3 out of my top 5 favorite movies premiered at film festivals as well as many of my other favorites.
When looking through Sundance’s 2024 lineup, My Old Ass immediately peaked my interest. Whether it was the film’s title (which is guaranteed to catch your eye) or the fact that Aubrey Plaza was involved, I immediately added it to my watchlist. Plus, I always love a good coming of age film. But what I ended up getting was so much more.
Maisy Stella as "Teenage Elliott" and Aubrey Plaza as "Older Elliot"
Written and directed by Megan Park (known for The Fallout, another great film), My Old Ass follows Elliott Labrant (Maisy Stella), an ambitious girl who is about to leave her family’s cranberry farm on Lake Muskoka and head to Toronto for college. On her 18th birthday, Elliott and her two friends venture into the forest in order to go on a Shroom trip, where Elliott ends up running into her 39-year-old self (Aubrey Plaza). After a witty argument between the two, Older Elliott agrees to give Teenage Elliott three pieces of advice: enjoy her hometown while she can, spend more time with her family, and most importantly, stay far away from anyone named Chad.
As the audience watches Teenage Elliott do exactly as her older self advised, we get to see her become a better person. In golfing trips with her brother Max (Seth Isaac Johnson) and deep conversations with her mom, the Elliott that used to be very open about how excited she was to leave home starts to find the beauty in the life she currently has.
Maisy Stella as "Teenage Elliott" and Maria Dizzia as "Mrs Labrant"
However, things really start to pick up when Teenage Elliott has a conversation with a boy in the lake. When Teenage Elliott asks what his name is, the boy responds with the exact answer the audience feared: Chad.
Initially wary about Chad (Percy Hynes White) because of how insistent Older Elliott was about avoiding him, Teenage Elliott does her best to stay away, which proves difficult due to the fact that Chad is a summer worker on her dad’s farm. The more time Teenage Elliott spends with Chad, the more she starts to realize that despite what Older Elliott had said, she can’t seem to find anything bad about the kind and charming boy she seems to know. With this, the audience can’t help but wonder “What could Chad possibly have done that was so bad?”.
Maisy Stella as "Teenage Elliott" and Percy Hynes White as "Chad"
Even though Aubrey Plaza is a star like always, Maisy Stella is easily the standout of this movie. She does an incredible job representing being a teenage girl and everything that comes with it. Stella also excels when it comes to portraying the different emotions her character feels throughout the film and there are times it feels like we can almost read Teenage Elliott’s mind. Her performance is so raw and realistic that there were times I had to remind myself that she was acting.
Despite the fact that there is a large romance storyline, it’s not just a film about a boy and a girl falling in love. My Old Ass tackles many important topics like sexual identity and grief as well as what it’s like to wait your whole life to leave your small town and “finally start living” in a big city and then realizing last minute that you’re not ready to leave your childhood behind, something that hit me especially hard since I just went through that exact thing. Overall, with a beautiful storyline and an ending that will pull at your heartstrings and leave you sobbing, My Old Ass is a must watch.
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
