Short, sweet, and to the point. That’s a methodology that’s missing in a lot of modern filmmaking and it can lead to films that drag on far beyond their welcome. What you don’t find often nowadays is a film that's short enough to leave its audience genuinely wanting more. Megan Park’s (“The Fallout”) sophomore directorial feature is one of those kinds of short and sweet stories, mixing in just enough salt and spice and drugs and time travel shenanigans to keep it interesting. And, of course, its titled “My Old Ass.”
The film follows 18-year-old Elliot, played by Maisy Stella (“Nashville (2012)”), the summer before she leaves for college in Toronto. On her birthday evening, Elliot takes mushrooms with her best friends Ro and Ruthie, played by Kerrice Brooks and Maddie Ziegler (“The Fallout,” “The Book of Henry”) respectively, and sees her 39-year-old self, played by Aubrey Plaza (“Parks & Recreation,” “The White Lotus”). She begins to give her younger self advice, including her order to stay away from Chad, played by Percy Hynes White (“Wednesday (2022),” “The Gifted”), a new boy working at her family’s cranberry farm over the summer.
Park’s latest film has a clear low-stakes vision, but it never feels low budget. The natural landscapes and feel of the Canadian countryside help to give the film a homemade atmosphere. It's two steps away from being home video footage, and it crackles with a small-town warmth that sells the emotions just as well as its cast does. Park’s direction and script deliver an unexpected level of authenticity despite the high concept of the low stakes. It feels young and youthful without being annoying or cloying. Elliot and her friends talk like young adults without sounding like they’re what adults think kids sound like.
Stella absolutely runs away with the film, bolstered by that dialogue but succeeding on an energy all her own. She easily handles herself alongside Plaza and the pair are fantastic together. But there’s an energy of youth, a spirit that flows through her entire performance that just electrifies things. On paper it’s easy to see a character like Elliot being relegated to the “slacker friend” role in another teen coming-of-age tale, but Stella breathes so much life into her here that it becomes impossible to see her as anything other than a lead. Plaza is, expectedly, just as good, giving a performance as authentically snarky as you’d expect from her, but balanced with a weathered adulthood. The film probably could have used a few more scenes with her and Stella, but those that exist are so special that it's entirely possible more with them would spoil it.
They work so well that it ends up unfortunately affecting the rest of the cast. No one else is bad by any means, but Stella and Plaza run away with the film so effectively that it becomes difficult to care nearly as much about anyone else. This ends up hurting the film specifically with regards to Chad. White is good as this sweet, doe-eyed young man, but he struggles to break out of a two-dimensional “sweet awkward boy” stereotype as the film goes on. Stella is great with him though, as she is with brooks and Ziegler, as well as Elliot’s family, but with the latter the film begs for just a few more scenes with each of them.
The film’s score, from composers Tyler Hilton and Jaco Caraco (“The Disinvited”) is oddly good, and it continues such a trend with this film. Park’s latest effort, on paper, could’ve easily been a crude drug trip adventure that overstayed its welcome or went off the rails. But with her tight and grounded script and a pair of leads that really work excellently together, it ends up resulting in a surprisingly sweet and effective coming-of-age film. Even if the supporting cast suffers a bit from the excellence of the two leads and it leaves you wanting just a few more scenes from each, it would be difficult not to be touched in some way by “My Old Ass.” 4/5
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