My Old Ass is the emotional comedy we’ve been waiting for.
In this queer coming-of-age, 18-year-old Elliot Labrant (Maisy Stella) gets a visit from her 39-year-old self (Aubrey Plaza) after taking shrooms. After convincing her younger self that they’re the same person, Plaza’s character lays down some knowledge that only your older self could provide.
Don’t we all wish we could have Aubrey Plaza guide us through our awkward years?
The film’s trailer, which dropped last week and received rave reviews at Sundance Film Festival, shows the two characters sitting around a campfire as they interact for the first time.
“You’re me? I don’t have a gap in my teeth,” Stella’s younger character questions. “Yeah, wear your retainer,” Plaza fires back.
Plaza advises herself to hang out with her brothers more and be nicer to her mom – advice most teenagers could stand to hear. She also warns her to stay away from “anyone named Chad” (fair enough). Stella hits her older self with some words of wisdom as well: “you don’t look happy. I feel like you’re having a mid-life crisis.”
“If you weren’t young and dumb, you’d never be brave enough to do anything,” Stella’s character argues. “Maybe you need to listen to my advice.”
The film delves into the fleeting feeling of time, something Plaza herself wanted to explore. At the sold-out Sundance premiere in Park City, she told the audience the film should stand as an escape from adulthood.
“I kept thinking about this idea: there was a time when you did something like play pretend with your friends, and then you just never did it again,” she said, according to Variety. “That made me really emotional. I also wanted to immerse myself in a joyful film and something that made people feel nostalgic for an easier, simpler time in life. Because life can be hard and shitty sometimes.”
My Old Ass was written and directed by Megan Park, who is known for her role in The Secret Life of An American Teenager. She made her directorial debut in 2021 with The Fallout.
The film is set to premiere in select theaters on September 13.
