Film Pick of the Week: My Old Ass - review by Yvette Huddleston
My Old Ass Prime Video, review by Yvette Huddleston
Written and directed by Canadian actor turned filmmaker Megan Park, this quirky comedy-drama is a delight from start to finish, largely thanks to impressive performances from the two leads.
Maisy Stella plays 18-year-old Elliott who lives in the picturesque Muskoka Lakes area in Canada with her parents and her two younger brothers on a cranberry farm, which has been in the family for two generations. Elliott is preparing to leave the sticks and head to Toronto to study and is counting down the days until her departure, enjoying a final fling with a girl who works in the local coffee shop.
She also plans a farewell overnight camping trip with her two best friends. As night falls, they all take some hallucinogenic mushrooms. Elliott at first feels no effect, while her friends do, and then a woman appears next to her and tells her that she is her 39-year-old self (Aubrey Plaza). They enjoy an interesting conversation during which young Elliott discovers that older Elliott is a Phd student – she is not impressed “I’m 40 and still in school!” – and is concerned that her older self does not seem especially happy. She asks her for advice – Plaza obliges by telling her to appreciate and spend more time with her family. Stella wants something more specific and after much pleading, older Elliott finally gives her younger self one piece of cryptic advice – namely, that whatever she does she should stay away from a guy called Chad.
The next morning Elliott awakes and assumes that the whole episode was a mushroom-induced hallucination. However, later that day she discovers a new contact on her phone under the name ‘my old ass’. She calls the number and is able to speak to Plaza. Things then get even stranger when out swimming in one of her favourite ponds she meets a young man called Chad (Percy Hynes White) who is working on her parents’ farm for the summer. Though she tries to resist it, she finds herself beginning to fall for him.
The smart script manages to embrace the fantasy/sci-fi concept of time travel and parallel dimensions with warmth, humour and a deft lightness of touch while also incorporating some profound philosophical observations about love, regret and the importance of family ties. Stella gives a beautifully natural, totally authentic, performance and Aubrey matches her with a believable portrayal that towards the end becomes very moving.