My Old Ass (Park, 2024)

Back with her second directorial feature film, Megan Park truly knows how to capture the essence of what it is to be a teenager. With My Old Ass (2024), Maisy Park shows audiences the feelings a teenager goes through when discovering their sexuality and the importance of time. Starring newcomer Maisy Stella, quirky favourite Aubrey Plaza, and Park regular Maddie Ziegler, My Old Ass is the perfect coming of age film for queers, Canadians, and all youth alike. 

Have you ever thought of something you’d tell yourself, well, in My Old Ass, Elliot gets the chance. Audiences follow Elliot (Maisy Stella), newly turned 18, as she and her friends Ruthie (Maddie Ziegler) and Ro (Kerrice Brooks) take mushrooms to celebrate. This trip brings Elliot face-to-face with her 39-year-old self. Elliot’s “old ass” (Aubrey Plaza) starts giving Elliot advice on how to savour her younger years, causing Elliot to rethink everything about her family, love, sexuality and it changes her last summer at home into one that’s transformative.

After watching her directorial debut, The Fallout (2021) and now My Old Ass (2024), it is clear that Park’s focus is on the teenage/youth experience. With her spotlight on the youth, Park chooses difficult topics to cover in her films, with the focus of My Old Ass being the importance of time and the struggles of discovering one’s sexuality.  

As the casting goes, newcomer Maisy Stella shines brightly in her role as Elliot. Fitting in perfectly as an 18-year-old, Stella sets the tone for teenagers in the 2020s. Even though she’s acting, Stella makes it seem like Elliot is a real person and she’s just living her life how it would be going in the moment. Her chemistry with her costars and banter with Plaza add to the film’s direction and dialogue, making Elliot relatable and loveable. Park’s choice of casting Aubrey Plaza as older Elliot was a great decision as well as audiences have come to love her and her sarcastic attitudes. 

Following impeccable casting and acting is Park’s use of the Muskoka’s and Canadian scenery. Perhaps not relatable to those who do not live in Canada, however, the use of the land and waters allows the audience to connect with the young Elliot wanting to move into the big city – after all, that is every small-town girl’s big dream. Showcasing the Canadian ‘outback’ was a brilliant play in Park’s case.

Whether you’re young or old, Canadian or international, queer or straight, My Old Ass will have something for you to connect to. Stellar performances by Maisy Stella and Aubrey Plaza, terrific use of the Muskoka’s and lovely directing bring the film together. Remember, even if you don’t make it to the cinema to watch My Old Ass, time is important. Think to yourself, as time goes on, what would you tell your younger self to do with their time?

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Photo credits to Rotten Tomatoes, The GATE, Polygon, and Mama's Geeky.