In 2021, Megan Park made her directorial debut at SXSW with The Fallout. The drama, starring Jenna Ortega and Maddie Ziegler, went on to win the festival’s top honor, the Grand Jury Prize for Narrative Feature. Three years later, Park returns with another festival darling in her sophomore film, My Old Ass. Featuring a delightfully deadpan Aubrey Plaza and rising star Maisy Stella, My Old Ass premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival to near-universal audience admiration before it was acquired by Amazon MGM Studios for $15 million.

A Life-Changing Mushroom Trip Leads to an Uncanny Discovery

Elliott (Stella) is counting down the last days of summer at home before relocating to the big city for college. On the evening of her 18th birthday, Elliott and a couple of friends celebrate her impending adulthood by camping. They bring with them a plastic baggie of mushrooms that are all but guaranteed to induce a psychedelic trip. Elliott doesn’t immediately feel the effects and is convinced she is immune to the drug. That is until she comes face to face–literally–with her future self. Sitting next to 18-year-old Elliott is 39-year-old Elliott (Plaza), whose words of wisdom and foreboding messages about what to expect in her future become all too much.

Watch My Old Ass here.

Both intrigued and horrified, Elliott eventually begins to humor her future self’s warnings, whom she endearingly calls her “old ass”. The most simplistic of the requests: stay away from a boy named Chad. It seems easy enough. But when she eventually bumps into a tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed stranger who introduces himself as Chad (Percy Hynes White), her intentions get muddy with desire. Everything becomes complicated until Elliott comes to the realization that she only has one life, and she wants to live it to the fullest.

A Modern-Day Coming-of-Age Story

My Old Ass has many classic coming-of-age tropes that audiences will find comforting, like the journey of self-discovery and the butterflies of a first love. The film strikes the right balance between these nostalgic moments and more progressive themes, like navigating a fluid sexual identity. Director Megan Park crafts an honest, heartfelt story that also encapsulates a sense of freshness. The film’s comedic leanings offer a charming examination of young adulthood.

Maisy Stella commands the screen as the angsty adolescent with a heart of gold. Her naturalness onscreen against comedy veteran Aubrey Plaza is impressive, giving a wise beyond-her-years aura. For her part as the titular “old ass,” Plaza is expectedly great. Her dialogue delivery hits every humorous inflection point and even offers us a curve ball during the final scene’s more emotional moments. My only complaint is that I wish we had more of her! Plaza only appears in two scenes, albeit very pivotal ones, but I selfishly wanted her presence to linger throughout the film.

Takeaway

A feel-good comedy that will leave audiences reminiscing about the good ol’ days, My Old Ass checks the box as another homerun from filmmaker Megan Park. The film ends on a heartwarming, slightly melancholy note, serving as a reminder that love is a gift, uncertainty is unavoidable, and the only thing you can’t get back is time, so it is important to appreciate the moment.