MY OLD ASS

Even though the premise of My Old Ass doesn’t do much new with the concept of a young girl being contacted by her older self, the actors make it an enjoyable watch and the message rings true.

The opening of My Old Ass hints at a dime-a-dozen teen flick about love, sex and coming of age. But that’s before 18 year old lead character Elliott pops some drugs and is all of sudden confronted with her 39 year old self, who warns her not to get romantically involved with a guy named Chad. Moments later said Chad appears in young Elliott’s life and she is forced with an impossible decision: heed the warnings of her ‘old ass’ self or follow her gut feeling and fall in love.

You can probably more or less guess where the tale goes from there, and that predictability certainly undercuts the strengths of My Old Ass. The picture also sags visually: the direction is only one step removed from a TV movie of the week and isn’t helped either by the fact that the interaction between old Elliott and young Elliott mostly occurs by cellphone, which doesn’t make for riveting viewing.

Another weak point is the exploration of the lead character’s sexuality. As the film begins Elliott appears to be solidly lesbian, but the movie then treats her sudden infatuation with Chad purely as a convenient plot point, hardly delving into the inner turmoil this must cause for a teenage girl.

Luckily what My Old Ass lacks in narrative innovation, emotional depth or visual splendour, the movie makes up for in terms of old-school charm. Most of that is due to an excellent lead performance by Maisy Stella, who brings the right mix of exuberance and insecurity to the role. As usual Aubrey Plaza, as the older Elliott, is also a big asset for the film, even is she is at times annoyingly underused.

But the best thing about the film is that it takes the age-old saying of ‘better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all’ and updates it with real poise for a young generation. So while the picture’s final twist might not come as a surprise, the moral lesson behind it hits home with touching authenticity.

release: 2024

director: Megan Park

starring: Maisy Stella, Aubrey Plaza, Percy Hynes White, Maddie Ziegler