Sundance London 2024 Review – My Old Ass (2024)

It’s a life lesson and one that can take years to learn. Just about every teenager will have nursed a wish to see into the future, more specifically to know what it holds for them. Life, of course, has other ideas. But in Megan Park’s My Old Ass, one teenager gets more than a glimpse of what’s waiting for her – whether she wants it or not.

Eighteen year old Elliott (Maisy Stella) has one summer vacation left on her family’s cranberry farm in idyllic Ontario before she leaves for college. For now, she’s more interested in figuring out her own sexuality and hanging out with her friends. A night out with them under the stars, and a mug filled with a heady magic mushroom brew, conjures up her 20 year older self – hence the title – and her look into the future comes with a warning about one particular boy. Under no circumstances should Elliott fall in love with him so, when they meet, she fights her feelings. But it’s not easy …..

Needless to say, the 39 year old Elliott puts in more than one appearance – she’s tapped her number in her younger self’s phone so the advice keeps coming – and the very fact that she’s played by Aubrey Plaza means more screen time is a must. She’s playing to her strengths here, full of deadpan wisecracks and adult exasperation with her younger self, but in her scenes with Stella we can see how one has matured into the other. They’re some of the highlights of the film and, while we find ourselves longing for those moments, Megan Park has played a blinder in leaving us wanting more. Her choice to put Stella in her first film role as the 18 year old is equally astute: apparently self-assured and unafraid, she’s inwardly full of doubts, confusion and alienation. Just watch her teenage tantrum when she learns the family farm is up for sale.

There’s a gently charming element of a shaggy dog story here, so there’s smiles a-plenty, but the film also tweaks more than enough emotional chords to make it both engaging and close to heart breaking. And, while this is a coming of age story, it isn’t just all about first love: the relationship between the younger Elliott and her mother (Maria Dizzia) says a lot about the pain and fear of letting go in just a few fleeting scenes. In truth, none of the life lessons here are especially new or unfamiliar, but they all serve as valuable reminders for those of us in the future Elliott’s age group. And Park throws in a few gags purely for the younger asses in the audience as well, even if it makes some of the older ones feel their age.

Having charmed audiences at Sundance at the start of the year, the film should be equally embraced in London – and there’s a good reason. It’s certainly a crowd pleaser, but there’s none of the slickness associated with the phrase. Instead there’s an emotional sincerity and wry humour that can’t fail to reach your heart, whatever the age of your ass.

★★★★

Showing at Sundance London on 8 and 9 June / Maisy Stella, Aubrey Plaza, Percy Hynes White, Maddie Ziegler, Kerrice Brooks, Maria Dizzia / Dir: Megan Park / Cert: tbc