All super sarcastic Canadian teen lesbian Elliot (Maisy Stella, Nashville) wants is to get the hell out of her small town and finally “start” her life, hook up with her long-time crush, and avoid becoming a third-generation cranberry farmer. Noble goals. When she takes mushrooms on her 18th birthday, who should appear before her but her 39-year-old self (Aubrey Plaza, Ingrid Goes West) with a dire warning to avoid a boy named Chad (Percy Hynes White, Wednesday) and to be nicer to her family. And moisturize.
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At its core, My Old Ass is about taking the time to look around and recognize what you have rather than fixating on some ethereal future; about appreciating what you have while you have it. And Elliot, to her credit, does this. Free-spirited and headstrong, she slows down and takes the time to reconnect with her parents and younger brothers, and, for the first time in a long while, really get to know them and value who they are.
Plaza is great as Older Elliot, using her trademark bristle and snark as a mask for something much more fragile and real. That’s her sweet spot and no one does it better. The rest of the supporting cast is also fantastic, especially Kerrice Brooks as Ro, one of Elliot’s best friends, Maria Dizzia (Martha Marcy May Marlene among many others) as her mother who’s both surprise and pleased at her daughter’s new outlook, and Seth Isaac Johnson and Carter Trozzolo as her brothers. Along with White, they all have their own personalities and moments to share insight and perspective.
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But this is 100% Maisy Stella’s show. She’s incredible and this should be a star-making turn. She perfectly captures Elliot’s brash cockiness and that jittery energy of teetering on the verge of venturing out on your own for the first time. Which she deftly balances with the crippling fear of the unknown and the massive uncertainty of facing the vast possibilities that await you. She’s funny and charismatic, impulsive and brave, and relatable and heartbreaking. You know you’re watching an immense talent destined to become phenomenon.
The world of My Old Ass is primarily a contemporary one, though Park’s script drops in gentle sci-fi beats just to create the slightest genre edge in a way that I love. Older Elliot offhandedly says things like, “Enjoy salmon while it lasts,” and offers snippet glimpses into the future. These aren’t hugely consequential, but they create an additional bit of unusual texture and a vaguely off-center vantage point that further sets the film apart.
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I’ll be curious to see how people react to the big emotional reveal. For my part, I called it moment one. It’s a move that’s been used multiple times before, including by a hugely popular sitcom. But it seems it’s taken many people by surprise, so who knows. Also, it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t lessen the ultimate impact. That’s a sign of strong storytelling, that you can know what happens and it still lands with ample force. It’s the journey, not the destination, that’s important and rewards you along the way.
It's really a testament to Park’s writing and direction, to do something so quietly confident as My Old Ass in only her second feature. Equal parts heartwarming and heart wrenching, this is sweet, hilarious, and affecting, and reminds us to grab what we love and hold it close because you never know when it might be gone. [Grade: A]
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