My Old Ass (dir. Megan Park)

By: Adam Freed

There are few joys greater than the delightful surprise of an unexpectedly great film.  My Old Ass, billed as an airy coming of age comedy, hides an emotional sledgehammer beneath its digestible comedic façade.  Once unveiled , Megan Park’s R-rated coming of age dramedy inflicts upon its audience a heart-wrenching blunt force trauma.  Park (The Fallout) directs the Margot Robbie produced film that presents top billing to Aubrey Plaza (Safety Not Guaranteed, Emily the Criminal).  While Plaza is without question a notable contemporary comedian, it isn’t her movie alone. She plays the aging version of the story's young protagonist Elliot, who Maisy Stella captures so delicately and truthfully, that one cannot help but to see just a little bit of themselves at 18, warts and all.  Stella (Nashville) plays the recent high school graduate counting down the days until she is free to leave her family’s cranberry farm in rural Canada in pursuit of a promising new collegiate life in Toronto.  In a plot leap that lands surprisingly better on screen than it must have on the page, weeks prior to leaving, Elliot magically encounters herself at the age of 39.  From this chance encounter, My Old Ass blossoms into one of the more resonant and meaningful films of the year. 

My Old Ass, despite its irreverent title and lighthearted marketing campaign, resonates with a fistful of relevant themes, all of which land as if they were waves upon a beach.  The film acts as both a cautionary tale for its younger viewers and a powerful mirror of reminiscence for more mature audiences. Park’s film delicately explores the non renewable resource of time by addressing the multitude of moments that tend to be thrown away with the callus assumption that they will only be replaced by the moments that follow.  My Old Ass works effortlessly to remind audiences that the only guarantee in life exists within the present, and that all subsequent moments must be accepted as gifts. Elliot’s character, both young and middle aged, work to overcome the trappings of their lives in order to come to terms with an existence resembling a state of gratitude.  Megan Park paints the portrait of a young lady free to make mistakes, as the film seemingly considers these moments as required stages of growth, rather than targets for judgment.   

Maisy Stella’s performance places her instantly amongst film history’s greatest coming of age characters.  Stella’s Elliot reanimates the flashes of brilliance present in Alicia Silverstone’s depiction of Cher in Clueless (1995).  Buried beneath the Rodeo Drive exterior of her mid 90’s teen heroine, Silverstone elevated Cher to a character capable of genuine grace as she methodically strips away her vapid exterior in favor of exposing her character to be the owner of a naïve and vulnerable heart. Maisie Stella imbues Elliot with a dynamic performance in which her transition from self-absorption to self-actualization feels utterly tangible.  My Old Ass brilliantly wears its, and all of our flaws, as moments to be relished not relinquished.    

Target Score: 8.5/10: Patient audiences will be rewarded for overcoming the film’s title and initial moments in order to unearth a wonderful surprise. My Old Ass is an undeniable hit for director Megan Park and for breakout star Maisy Stella, who provides one of the most sentimentally evocative and heartfelt performances of the year. 

My Old Ass premieres September 20 in select theaters and can be seen nationwide September 27.