My Old Ass Review
My Old Ass (2024) Film Review, a movie written and directed by Megan Park and starring Maisy Stella, Aubrey Plaza, Percy Hynes White, Maddie Ziegler, Kerrice Brooks, Maria Dizzia, Alain Goulem, Seth Isaac Johnson and Carter Trozzolo.
Megan Park’s heartwarming new comedy, My Old Ass, is about a young girl named Elliott (Maisy Stella) who experiments with mushrooms and ends up hallucinating that she is talking with her older self (Aubrey Plaza). What if this all is actually real, though? What if there’s some validity to the argument that the older Elliott is making that she’s really the younger Elliott grown up? The 39-year old Elliott played by Plaza suggests that the younger one avoids a guy named Chad (Percy Hynes White) in order to have a happier future. Is there a way to outsmart fate? This movie tackles that question in a fun and enjoyable way.
We meet Elliott as a younger woman who has two friends who are about her age, Ruthie (Maggie Ziegler) and Ro (Kerrice Brooks). They all go together into the woods and do mushrooms one night. Plaza’s Elliott arrives and compares her features to her younger self so they’re both in agreement that Plaza’s character is really Elliott grown up. The movie takes a weird turn as the older Elliott gives the younger one her cell phone number. This part of the movie is slightly flawed but curiosity will keep the audience watching. Soon, the older Elliott disappears after just several minutes into the story line only to reappear towards the film’s conclusion. But, luckily, Maisy Stella has a wonderful screen presence that carries the bulk of the movie and she is matched by the endearing qualities of Percy Hynes White who plays Chad with plenty of charisma and heart.
This film is sweet-natured but has a wild side too. It’s arguable that the film’s best scene has Stella’s Elliott taking mushrooms and imagining she’s singing with her friends to Justin Bieber’s song, “One Less Lonely Girl.” This picture excels in creating some believable chemistry between Elliott and Chad. Elliott initially thought she was attracted to girls but finds in Chad a kindred spirit with whom she develops a real connection. However, her older self urged her to get away from him for a very specific reason. What was it? The desire to find the answer to that question will keep the viewer watching.
In support, Maria Dizzia is well-cast as Kathy, Elliott’s mom. Stella and Dizzia share a few heartfelt moments together that strengthen their bond as Elliott’s older self suggests that being closer to her mom would be a good idea. Plaza, herself, disappears from the movie for a long stretch but is very funny in her scenes that pretty much bookend the picture. While Plaza’s scenes in the beginning are more humorous, the sequences she appears in towards the end are a bit more heavy and Plaza succeeds in balancing the comedy with the dramatic elements in the plot very well.
The fact that the younger Elliott has the older one’s cell phone number was a little confusing, though, and it was a little frustrating when the older one wasn’t answering the younger one’s calls. Luckily, the movie can work despite that fact because of its upbeat nature and overall positive tone.
Maisy Stella is the real highlight of My Old Ass which will put filmmaker Megan Park (The Fallout) on the map as someone to use for bigger projects that could take her talents as a writer/director even further. My Old Ass is a nice movie, it’s a good movie and it’s a touching one but it lacks a little depth in the explanations in the concluding scenes which takes away some of the impact of the emotions found within. You may be too busy wiping a tear from your eye to really notice, however. Park really knows how to create scenes which touch the heart and Park’s ability to get the performances from Plaza and Stella that are on display here is quite admirable.
Aubrey Plaza and Maisy Stella are a dream team and it’s a shame they don’t have more screen time together in My Old Ass which could be the result of budgetary restraints or simply the fact that Park just wanted the older Elliott scenes to bookend the picture. Because of Stella’s fine work and Percy Hynes White’s heartfelt performance, this film soars to some pretty emotional levels in certain sequences. My Old Ass is a lot of fun and it will be a sure crowd-pleaser for those who like female-driven comedies. It’s not perfect but it’s a perfectly fine way to spend some time laughing and crying.
Rating: 7.5/10
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