You may know what question you’d ask your older self if you got the chance to speak to them, but can you ever be truly prepared to receive advice from the future?
That hypothetical serves as the thesis for My Old Ass, an off-beat coming-of-age movie that straddles the line between irreverent teen comedy and tear-jerking melodrama. Writer-director Megan Park is tapping into plenty of nostalgia with her sophomore feature, from the sappy sentiments of young adult romance to the “just go with it” logic of time travel romps. It’s a film sure to resonate with millennials as they look back on the glimmer of their younger days, but it’s also a love letter to the resilience of Gen Z... and the lessons they can teach their elders.
My Old Ass kicks off in the waning weeks of Elliot’s (Maisy Stella) last “true” summer vacation. In less than a month, she’ll embark on the next phase of her life, leaving her idyllic family home for the University of Toronto. That’s exactly what she wants: Elliot is desperate not to get trapped in the family business of cranberry harvesting. In this way, and in so many others, she’s no different from your archetypal teen protagonist, taking her present for granted while endlessly chasing the allure of “someday.” But when she encounters her future self (Aubrey Plaza) after a potent dose of mushroom tea, Elliot comes face-to-face with a future she never expected.
The schmaltzy Hallmark-isms about a life well-lived don’t really factor into Elliot’s first meeting with Older Elliot. Her sardonic 39-year-old self doesn’t have much advice to give at the outset, either, aside from suggesting that Elliot treat her family with a bit more patience. Most importantly, though, she instructs her to steer clear of a guy named Chad. Elliot’s prepared to chalk the experience up to a bad trip until she does, in fact, meet a guy named Chad (Percy Hynes White), a new part-timer on her family’s farm who happens to be really nice. And funny. And cute.
As Elliot gets closer to Chad, she can’t understand why her older self would be so opposed to their friendship, or a potential fling. Besides the fact that her burgeoning feelings challenge everything she’s ever known about her sexuality (Elliot had identified as a lesbian), he seems harmless. In the film’s funniest moments, Older Elliot manages to return now and then to bestow more cryptic advice, occasionally through chaotic text messages (she’s able to program her future number into Elliot’s phone, which definitely breaks a few time travel rules).
To disclose why Older Elliot disapproves of Chad would be to reveal My Old Ass’ biggest twist, but one doesn’t have to understand the nitty-gritty to know that Old Elliot’s wounds have yet to heal. Her battle of wills with her younger self is all about the regret that informs our adulthood, and the questions that haunt so many of us in hindsight. If you could save yourself from a painful choice, would you? Would your past self even listen? And if they did, would they really be better off?
It’s here that My Old Ass veers from plucky sci-fi comedy into a much more earnest lane; fortunately, under Park’s direction, it never feels all that forced. The film feels akin to the Nicholas Sparks adaptations that once dominated the zeitgeist, albeit with a slight sci-fi twist. Its unique tone won’t be for everyone, especially once its sci-fi sensibilities fade into the background. But as a remix of common coming-of-age tropes, it absolutely works; just brace yourself for a hefty emotional gut punch.
