It is Elliot’s (Maisy Stella) birthday, and she is determined to celebrate with her friends on a camping trip to a small, wooded island in the Muskoka Lakes and the trio plan to brew some mushroom tea to unwind and let loose.  As the night goes on, Elliot is left sitting by the dying fire waiting for her trip to start when out of the woods a woman (Aubrey Plaza) approaches her and sits down next to her on the log.  She claims to be an older, wiser Elliot – though only 39, so not too much older and certainly not middle aged! – and she comes with advice for her younger self; be kinder to her parents, enjoy her time with her brothers, and avoid anyone named Chad. 

Megan Park writes and directs My Old Ass, a tender and reflective coming of age comedy acquired by MGM Studios out of its Sundance premiere.  At 91 minutes, My Old Ass executes a wild yet charming concept in a way that is fun and never overcomplicated.  One of the most expensive acquisitions out of the festival, the film was rolled out to theatres right at the start of the college semester and enjoyed a moderate rollout across September.  It was a fitting timeline, albeit just a little too small to capture any meaningful audiences grossing only $5.3 million, but much like how Sony’s theatrical releases are just extended ads for when they bow on Netflix, this release was really just generating word of mouth for VOD and the titles eventual debut on Prime and offered the tech giant another opportunity from prime trailer pack placement on their holiday hopeful hit Red One (2024). 

Lensed by Kristen Correll and edited by Jennifer Vecchiarello, the film adopts an almost rosy colored sensation of how we remember our favorite Disney Channel or Nickelodeon shows which pairs well with the central theme of the film of looking back at our youth.  This, paired with the trappings of an answering-to-no-one indie with its idyllic lakeside settings, gorgeous lived-in home, and the quirkiness of a family cranberry farm, we are lulled into the charm of the film all the while Park is laying the groundwork for examining some very mature themes.  Like Sian Heder who delivered CODA (2021) to great acclaim, Park discusses these themes with her audience with a comforting sternness and frankness that feels deeply personal yet can easily be grafted onto our own experience. 

The heartfelt film serves as Stella’s feature debut, and the young actress is able to foster incredible chemistry with Plaza who proves to be a very giving and kind scene partner while never shorting her own laugh lines.  Across Elliot’s crucible, Stella needs to humble herself in front of Correll’s lens which is never an easy thing to do even for more seasoned performers.  My Old Ass is a film that finds Elliot at a point of incredible growth and as such, she is a character that makes many mistakes and stumbles along the way.  We never abandon her on her journey, though, as even though we watch her make all of the bad decisions, through Plaza’s mere existence in the narrative, we know that she is going to be okay and come out on the other side of it all. 

The hook that helps frame this otherwise lackadaisical hangout film into something with a little more plot is the looming warning to avoid anyone named Chad.  Sure enough, while Elliot is swimming in the lake, she meets a Chad (Percy Hynes White) who is just so happens to be working on the farm that summer.  At the utterance of his name, the film takes on an immense gravity as we desperately try to figure out why Chad is to be avoided when there are no clues to be sleuthed and the older Elliot has become unreachable, we begin to panic alongside Elliot.  To White’s credit, he has a very specifically ambiguous role to fill in the film.  He needs to be affable enough that we find ourselves endeared to him, but at the same time this – ultimately genuine – quality also need to feel like a mask covering up something darker. 

Thankfully, My Old Ass is not an assault horror story masquerading as a light hearted romp as we may have feared especially as Chad and Elliot begin to get more and more involved with each other.  Park does not leave the film a mystery, but she still does end on a note of tragedy revealing that Chad is exactly what he presented himself to be; an incredible person who will make Elliot very happy, but he will die young.  Plaza delivers this line late in the film and with such poignancy that it lands on our chests like a ton of bricks, knocking the air right out of our chests.  Plaza and White share a long hug in the emotional capstone of the film, a moment that Park allows to play out but then quickly takes the tone back to comedy to wrap everything up.  It is a bit of advice that Elliot will not follow; she will continue to see Chad, love him, and treasure every moment with him, and Park has so expertly fostered that sentiment into her narrative that anything else would have felt like a betrayal.  It will bring pain, but like when we first saw the elder Elliot, we know that the younger Elliot will go on to be just fine and it is this optimism – sure, heavy handed – that makes this film and this story, told in this way, so powerful.