A hug in film form
I left my screening of My Old Ass thinking about The Holdovers. There are very few similarities between these two films. Plot, settings, characters, arcs, theme—the overlap is practically non-existent. There’s no 70’s-inspired cinematography in My Old Ass, and it’s hard to imagine the film picking up any Oscar nominations…
And yet like The Holdovers, My Old Ass is a movie that can reduce the average moviegoer to tears if it catches them off-guard. I certainly wasn’t expecting anything profound from My Old Ass—I thought it was going to be a silly comedy—so when it started to hit me with its various life-affirming themes, I wasn’t mentally prepared.
After all, I was really only going to see it because of Aubrey Plaza (who between this, Megalopolis, and Agatha All Along, is having quite the moment).
Farming Likes
Elliot (Maisy Stella) can’t wait to get away from her family’s cranberry farm and begin her life as a college student, but when she and her friends take hallucinogenic mushrooms, Elliot inadvertently summons a version of her older self (Aubrey Plaza), who comes with both advice and warnings.
Look, I know that coming-of-age movies can all feel a little trite, especially when teenagers themselves are the target demographic. High school, trauma, loss of innocence, unrequited loves, a manic pixie dream girl or two—you can picture the beats; you’ve seen it all before.
What makes My Old Ass special isn’t the magical realism in its premise, but how it side-steps so many of the tropes and clichés of the genre to present something new. Even the deeper themes of the movie feel more ‘mature’ and universal than the standard fare. This isn’t a movie about going to a different college from your BFF or trying to finally snag the guy/gal of your dreams before graduation.
It’s a movie about slowing down. It’s a movie about appreciating what you have when you have it, and not constantly looking forward to the next thing. It’s a movie, to paraphrase older Elliot, about discovering how sometimes the things that you’ve always wanted aren’t what you really want.
High On Life
There’s very little plot in this movie, and Elliot doesn’t really have much of a concrete goal, either, which a lot of screenwriting teachers would rail against. Instead, the narrative drifts along at its own pace, which really contributes to its peaceful atmosphere. The only true conflict in the movie comes in the form of Chad (Percy Hynes White); a boy that older Elliot warns her younger self to stay away from. Even then, Chad isn’t a stressful presence in the story.
The performances in My Old Ass are great, too. Aubrey Plaza is used sparingly, which really lets Maisy Stella take centre stage. She manages to be funny and ground the film emotionally at the same time, which is quite the tightrope walk. Her chemistry with Chad could make a rock smile, and her ability to sell the rather profound journey her character goes on without feeling melodramatic makes My Old Ass a joy to watch.
The movie is also just nice to look at. Wikipedia is telling me it was filmed at the Muskoka Lakes in Ontario, Canada, which feels a cheat code for making your film look spectacular. Aside from that, it’s a fun location to place a teenager in a coming-of-age story, even if it does make the whole ‘slow down and appreciate your life’ thing a little obvious at times.
I mean, this is one of the most beautiful landscapes ever put to film! In the movie’s defence, all I can say is that—as someone who lives in the west of Ireland—it’s easy to become accustomed to the natural beauty in my surroundings. It usually takes an outside influence to make me appreciate that I’m lucky to have grown up where I did.
Graduation
As beautiful as the landscapes are, it's the plethora of small moments, details, and flourishes that make this movie feel specific and real. One of my favourite through lines is Elliot's younger brother's obsession with Saoirse Ronan, but there's also a great Justin Bieber-related sequence (trust me), and conversations with parents that will bring a tear to your eye.
Don’t let the fact that this is a coming-of-age movie about a teenage girl make you think that My Old Ass isn’t for you. Demographics are a construct. This is a genuinely touching story about time and love and family, and if you don’t leave it with warm fuzzy feeling in your chest and the urge to reach out to a loved one just to see how they’re doing, then you probably watched the wrong movie by accident.
***
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