#SUNDANCE: “MY OLD ASS” REVIEW

By Amanda Gilmore

My Old Ass is an entertaining, deeply funny, and tender film about living boldly.

The summer before college, bright-yet-irreverent Elliott (Maisy Stella) comes face-to-face with her older self (Aubrey Plaza) during a mushroom trip. The encounter spurs a funny and heartfelt journey of self-discovery and first love as Elliott prepares to leave her childhood home in Muskoka for Toronto to attend University.

Writer-Director Megan Park’s follow-up to her feature debut The Fallout, which received the Grand Jury Prize, Audience Award for Narrative Feature, and the Brightcove Award for Directing at SXSW in 2021, is a runaway crowd-pleasing hit. We’ve had these time-traveling, meeting-ones-self films before. Yet, Park makes it inventive and hilarious.

For one, Elliott meets her older self while on a shroom trip. During this encounter, she asks 39-year-old her (a truly compelling Plaza) for advice about what she can do to have a better life. Plaza’s Elliott warns her younger self (a breakout role for the vibrant Stella) against getting close to someone named Chad (Percy Hines White). But in true young-adult fashion, saying to stay away makes Elliott curious about him. What did Chad do to cause Elliott to warn her older self to steer clear?

This mystery that young Elliott tries to find out gets at the heart of the Film. It leads to an immensely moving moment near the end that will have all weeping. It leaves the audience with a poignant, uplifting message about how to live life. Park’s beautiful lesson: don’t live in the past, or the future, live for the moment and do it fearlessly.

My Old Ass screens at Sundance ’24:

Jan 20 at 7:00 PM at Eccles Theatre

Jan 21 at 9:15 AM at Prospector Square Theatre

Jan 22 at 9:15 PM at Magaplex Theatres at The Gateway – Theatre 1/2/3

Jan 24 at 10:00 AM at Library Center Theatre

Jan 28 at 9:20 PM at Rose Wagner Theatre