My Old Ass stars Maisy Stella as a young 18-year-old named Elliot. When she got on a mushroom trip with her friends, she comes face-to-face with an older 39-year-old version of herself, played by Aubrey Plaza. The interaction forces the younger Elliot to start rethinking everything from family to love to her future. The film has been receiving critical acclaim since it first came out, and I got the chance to finally see it this weekend when it released everywhere in the states.

I never thought I would ever go to the theater and have an unexpected Aubrey Plaza double feature. I made it work to where I was able to see this immediately after Megalopolis. While Plaza serves an important part to the story in each, she is certainly more of a supporting character. I’d even go to say that he considerably less screentime in this film. Plaza is great with what she is given and make her presence truly felt, but the main star Maisy Stella gives one of my favorite performances of the year.

For the sake of the story, you have to believe Stella’s performance as someone who is selfish, yet has the best of intentions. She loves her family and where she lives, but she is eager to move on with her life and do something important. The confusion she faces with her sexuality also requires her to go out and embrace the world to get a better understanding of she is. I honestly thought I had seen Maisy Stella before. To my surprise, I never did before. I thought I had seen here before, because she is that good. She is so good that I currently have her placed in my top 10 performances from an actress for the year and I hope that doesn’t change. There is so much of this story that requires to go through some drastic emotional changes that is not easy to do.

While it is only her second feature film, Megan Park is quickly becoming one of my favorite working directors today. She did also write this story on her own here, but her direction makes her one of the most important people to tell story for the younger generation. Her first film, The Fallout, is a lot more dark and gloomy, yet the message she leaves behind in that film is the importance of understanding the younger generation in a certain way. This one is not as dark & gloomy. It’s a lot more upbeat and comedic, yet there is still a challenge for the main character that she has to overcome between trying to be better to her family and understanding her sexuality. Park never intends for us to understand it all. We are just as confused as the main character, but at least we go away knowing that everything is going to be okay, which is something the main character goes through.

For a movie that only runs 89-minutes including credits, a lot is accomplished quite well here. For one, the cinematography gives a grand overview of its location, which never limits the crew to capture what they need to for this film. The music offers some originality in its score. The music they borrow however fits the tone this movie is going for perfectly, with some making me nostalgic of my own upbringing where challenges were different. It doesn’t matter how old you are what you identify as, I think a lot of people will relate to the situations this main character will go through. I know I wish I could tell my younger self that everything will work out.

As for negatives, I few tidbits where I think it could have been improved and where my score would have gone up significantly. For one, the story seems to cut out moments that offer little to no closure. I personally would have liked to have seen more interaction between Elliot and her father. I also would have liked to have seen more closure with her female romantic interest. I think having these interactions would have really helped enhance the story and character development.

I also wasn’t crazy how the movie segues into something else at times. In particular, I wasn’t crazy about when Elliot goes on her second trip in the hopes to find her older self again. Instead of offering more insight into her relationship with her older self, we get a musical replica of her singing something from Justin Bieber. It’s funny to a certain extent, but I would have liked to have seen that go in a different direction. There is also a reveal that happens towards the end that isn’t totally revealed as to how it happens. I think there was a missed opportunity to explain more as to what happens.

Overall, My Old Ass exceeded my expectations thanks to its humor, heart, and emotion. 2024 might be a rough year for movies. If there is one thing I can appreciate, it’s how so many of the great films this year have a hopeful message. I really wouldn’t mind seeing this again in the near future. Unfortunately, I don’t know if the title itself is going to appeal to a lot of people. I think if people do seek it out, they won’t regret it.

VERDICT: 4/5 (Great)