‘My Old Ass’ Audit: In the event that She Could Return to the past

That late spring before school can be bizarre, a second suspended between life stages, and Elliott (Maisy Stella) is squarely in a tough situation. She’s turning 18 in the small beautiful local area of Muskoka, Ontario, where her family has cultivated cranberries for ages. She has a janky little speedboat, two closest companions, and a gigantic pulverize on the young lady behind the counter at the neighborhood café. What’s more, she’s anticipating going to Toronto in a couple of brief a long time to begin the following section of her life.

It sounds like a classic coming-of-age story, and you might think you’ve seen it all before. But My Old Ass, written and directed by Megan Park, takes the genre in unexpected directions. The film explores not only youth, love, and possibility but also the regrets of middle age. As a result, it weaves a layered emotional journey that speaks to the complexity of time and the weight of future choices.

A Different Kind of Teen Hero

Elliott is a refreshing departure from the typical teenage girl tropes in film. For years, teenage characters were boxed into stereotypes—goths, cheerleaders, nerds, bullies, or “cool girls.” Elliott, however, is multifaceted. She’s funny, capable, and comfortable in her skin. She can drive a tractor, and handle a boat, and yet, like many teens, she’s also flaky—missing her birthday dinner with her family because she’s caught up in her world. She loves her parents and siblings, but they annoy her, and she’s not shy about showing it. Yet, she’s also willing to apologize when she’s wrong.

Elliott feels real—a well-rounded teenage girl with depth, much like the young characters played by Haley Lu Richardson in The Edge of Seventeen or Saoirse Ronan in Lady Bird. She’s flawed, but that’s what makes her relatable.

A Psychedelic Twist

On Elliott’s 18th birthday, she and her two friends, Ro (Kerrice Brooks) and Ruthie (Maddie Ziegler), decide to celebrate with a wild plan—they take psychedelic mushrooms and head off to a secluded island to camp out and explore their experiences. At first, the trip doesn’t seem to affect Elliott, but soon, something extraordinary happens: her future self, at age 39 (played by Aubrey Plaza), appears at the campfire.

This isn’t just a hallucination. Elliott’s 39-year-old self is a Ph.D. student, more jaded and cynical than her younger self, but still genuinely curious to meet her teenage version. She offers advice, warning Elliott to avoid a guy named Chad, and even though the mushroom effects wear off, the connection between the two versions of Elliott remains.

An Unlikely Mentor

As the film progresses, Elliott’s older self becomes a guide, helping her navigate the challenges of this crucial summer. Chad (Percy Hynes White), the summer worker on her family’s farm, appears just as her older self predicted. While Elliott tries to heed her future self’s warnings, she also takes a new approach to her relationships with her family—spending more time with her brother and engaging with her mother, even if she’s unsure why.

For viewers who have already lived through their teenage years, Elliott’s story hits differently. At 18, the idea of being 39 feels far off, like a distant dream. But as we near 40, those teenage years seem like they happened just yesterday. We become acutely aware of how fleeting those moments were, how easy it was to take them for granted.

Capturing the Magic of the Moment

At its core, My Old Ass is a nostalgia-tinged reminder to savor the present before it slips into the past. Set against the stunning backdrop of Muskoka, with its shimmering lakes and quaint town charm, the film has a dreamlike quality. The idyllic summer setting adds to the feeling that Elliott’s story could be a memory of our own best summer days.

Maisy Stella’s performance is central to the film’s success. She brings an authenticity to Elliott that feels effortless, drawing on her experience as a child star in Nashville to deliver a performance that is both natural and compelling.

The Bigger Questions

While My Old Ass dabbles in time travel, it doesn’t get bogged down in the mechanics of how it all works. Instead, the film focuses on the emotional journey—how regrets, hindsight, and future possibilities shape our present selves. Elliott’s older self has her own regrets, which, though vaguely outlined, have clearly led her away from the bright, hopeful girl she once was. This begs the question: If we knew what our future held, would we make different choices today?

Ultimately, My Old Ass challenges us to think about how the choices we make in the present can impact our future selves. It’s a film that, while playful and often humorous, leaves viewers reflecting on the bittersweet passage of time and the importance of appreciating the moments we have.