My Old Ass (2024)

Review: written Sep 2024

Authentically Sweet Coming-Of-Age Movie

This defied my expectations, to completely win me over. I knew nothing about it going in, and when it at turns looked like it was going to be a movie about teenage lesbian feelings, then a movie about teenage friends and then a genre “meeting my older self” movie a la Freaky Friday, I suspected I wasn’t the target demographic. But it turned out to be all and none of those things – it defies pegging down to a genre, except to say it’s the most genuinely real coming-of-age movie I have seen in years.

Elliott (Maisy Stella) is turning 18, and getting ready to leave home. As a last blast with her best friends, she decides to take some psychedelic mushrooms – which have an unexpected side effect – she is able to converse with her 39 year old self (Aubrey Plaza), who proceeds to give her some advice from the future. She then meets a charming young man, making her start to question her identity (she has previously only had flings with other girls), and starts to question what home really is and what she will miss.

If those beats sound well worn, they are completely fresh with director Megan Park at the helm, and with a performance from Maisy Stella that is simultaneously adorable, spiky and real – it’s a spectacular and endearing performance which makes the movie sparkle. She is growing up and making adult decisions – and yet clearly also youthful and impetuous in other ways. Her eagerness to get away from home glosses over the real feelings she has for her family, and the farm she grew up in. Her older self tries to help her make some course corrections – but Elliott will have to decide to go with experience, or impulsive youth – and it isn’t always clear which of those is actually the wise choice.

The characters, and the relationships between them – from her family, to her friends, and to the new friend she meets, even with her older self, all seem real – with dialogue that is both hilarious, authentic sounding rather than from a screenwriting playbook, and smart. Add to that it’s a beautifully shot movie, making full use of the Ontario locations. It means both the look, as well as the feel, of the movie feel fresh and new, and well, yes – un-Hollywood-y.

So it’s not any of those stereotypes I thought, and it’s a bit of all of them – it’s fresh, heartwarming, charming and sharp tongued.

Watch it, and you’ll at the very least have a smile on your face, and perhaps even find the best, smartest feel-good movie of the year. This old ass couldn’t help but enjoy it.