Movie Review: 'My Old Ass' Maisy Stella is a Movie Star

My Old Ass

Directed by Megan Park

Written by Megan Park

Starring Maisy Stella, Aubrey Plaza, Percy Hynes White

Release Date September 27th, 2024

Published September 30th, 2024

“I’d wish you a happy birthday but cis white men have had enough happiness.”

That’s a line in the new comedy My Old Ass and, even as I am a cis white man, the line, as delivered by fresh faced, new star Maisy Stella made me chuckle. It’s a little clunky but modern. My description of the line and my reaction to it is a perfect summation of the movie My Old Ass, it’s a little clunky but quite modern in perspective. And, quite often, it made me chuckle. My Old Ass is a high concept, low key comedy about growing up, making mistakes and realizing that our mistakes inform our life as much as our successes.

My Old Ass stars Maisy Stella as Elliott, a teenager just about to leave the nest. Elliott is leaving behind her family cranberry farm for the big city of Toronto, Canada for college and she’s not looking back. On her 18th birthday, Elliott and her two closest friends go to a remote part of their lakeside hometown and take drugs, specifically, psychedelic mushrooms. While tripping balls, Elliott encounters her 39 year old self, played by Aubrey Plaza. Elliot spends the night quizzing her older self about life in the future and what mistakes she should avoid to make their life better in the future.

Older Elliott is concerned about making too many changes to the past but she does convince her younger self to be nicer to her mom, spend time with her younger brothers, and care more about her family business. The only mistake that older Elliott instructs her younger self not to make is falling for Chad (Percy Hynes White), whom young Elliott hasn’t met yet. She will meet him in the course of this story being told and their relationship is the driving force of the rest of the plot as Elliott struggles not to immediately fall for the charming, sweet, and thoughtful young Chad.

The chemistry between Maisy Stella with everyone in My Old Ass is exciting to watch. She’s a natural movie star who elevates everyone she shares the screen with. She’s generous, not dominating any scene. Stella’s infectiousness sets the vibe of each scene and the back and forth between her and everyone else in the movie matches her particular energy in the specific scene. It’s the kind of effortless star power that I recall seeing in actors like Florence Pugh or Keira Knightley, or even Stella’s co-star, Aubrey Plaza who thrives on creating the energy of any scene she’s in as a star or supporting player.

Stella and Plaza are well matched and if they weren’t playing the same character, they’d make a terrific mother-daughter duo, like a modern, dark humor version of the Gilmore Girls. Their few scenes together crackle with energy and humor and it is not hard at all to see how Stella’s Elliott leads to Plaza’s older, wiser, version of the character. Some may complain that the ‘time travel’ of the plot has no explanation but if you’re complaining about that, you’re missing out on the actual movie.

The point of older Elliott speaking to younger Elliott is only to create an emotional framework for a well observed character study. Accept My Old Ass as it is and I believe you will enjoy it. There is no need to try and pull threads on the film’s version of time travel. Your time will be better spent on observing Elliott and enjoying the funny, modern, unique and charismatic Maisy Stella. This is a star in the making and My Old Ass is a terrific announcement of her arrival.

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