The premise for breezy coming-of-age comedy My Old Ass is familiar but under the direction of filmmaker Megan Park (The Fallout) there’s a lot that feels fresh. Maisy Stella plays Elliott, an 18-year-old girl on a camping trip with friends who decides to try mushrooms. While high, she is greeted by her 39-year-old self (Aubrey Plaza) who advises her to relish her youth while she has it, and avoid a boy named Chad.
Embracing similar messaging as films like Freaky Friday, the film’s universal question (what would you tell your younger self?) pulls you in to a slight but lovable story of facing up to adulthood. Elliott’s Queerness is a subject of exploration, and balanced in a way that will feel authentic to the Gen Z target audience without feeling patronising.
Park let her young cast have input into the storytelling to feeling more authentic, which is key in a story so grounded in friendship. This also reportedly led to one of the film’s funnier sequences, centring around Elliott’s childhood fixation on Justin Bieber (Stella chose the song herself based on her previous adoration).
The source of most of the laughs is the chemistry between Stella, who carries the majority of the film with ease, and Plaza in a softer performance than she’s known for. Despite the intimate banter (the title comes from Elliott wanting to touch her 39-year-old behind) there’s a tenderness between the two that makes the shifty supernatural elements more palatable.
Only time will tell if My Old Ass is a cult hit for future generations, in the way Big or 17 Again was for past generations. Taken on its own merits, Park sensitively covers the big questions of early adulthood in a way that will make the young and not-so-young nod in agreement.
My Old Ass is in cinemas from 27th September