My Old Ass (2024): Time's Tender Lessons

“My Old Ass” (2024) has a deceptively simple yet profoundly moving plot: an 18-year-old named Elliot encounters her 39-year-old self during an 18th-birthday mushroom trip. It is a coming-of-age story that highlights the universal experiences of love, loss, and the difficulty of accepting change.

This film will capture your heart, and make you cry at the beautiful yet inescapable nature of time and the precious essence of youthful experiences.

What would you tell your 18-year-old self in order to improve your life? What would you ask your 39-year-old self in order to understand how your life turned out?

There are a few boys’ names I would tell 18-year-old self to avoid, and I would request the stock speculations from my 39-year-old self in order to invest early…obviously.

Like Elliot (played by Maisie Stella), I often feel like I’m still a kid masquerading as an adult. Waiting for life to start, when the lessons are just beginning. I think that despite paying my taxes, maintaining professional relationships, and writing my own blog, I’m fundamentally the same person I was at 18 - ambitious, hopeful, and still clinging to lifelong dreams (in my case, becoming an accomplished author). I still despise calling to make doctor appointments, scheduling lawn maintenance, and I still loath peas. I’m still a kid, but I know more through my experiences as a young adult. I know that life is finite, and time moves more quickly without markers, making your twenties flash by in a blur. A marker like a Sweet 16, High School Graduation, or your wedding day slows down the passage of time. As you get older, those markers come around less often, so time can feel more fluid and then…you’re middle-aged. Then your 70. 80. 90 (Hopefully). There is something to be said about accepting that time will continue to pass with little regard to human plans. And I think this film can make anyone feel a bit better about the finality of our lives.

The film, which earned a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7/10 on IMDb, follows Elliot in her final weeks before moving away to college. During a camping trip with friends, she takes hallucinogenic mushrooms, and her future self materializes to offer humorous and wholesome guidance. The camaraderie between Aubrey Plaza and Maisy Stella convinces the audience that they are truly the same person, and a warm friendship forms between the pair, highlighting the therapeutic tool of introspection of one’s thoughts and feelings. Asking internal questions like - “Do I like who I am becoming?”, or “How can I be the best version of myself?”

What makes the narrative extraordinary is its nuanced exploration of time, love, and personal growth. Aubrey Plaza (playing 39-year-old Elliot) advises her younger self to cherish family relationships, recognizing the teenage angst that often blinds us to those connections. The film candidly acknowledges that Young Elliot is somewhat abrasive, using humor to highlight this self-awareness. However, Young Elliot realizes that there is power in her youth and explains that if people were never young and dumb, then they would never be brave enough to try anything that could change their lives or teach them a valuable lesson.

The central plotline revolves around the character of Chad (played by the very charming Percy White), a kind and funny ‘summer boy’ who becomes significant in Elliot’s life. Initially, the older Elliot warns her younger self to stay away from him, creating the assumptions that Chad will break Elliot’s heart. However, the twist reveals a more profound truth: Chad doesn’t leave the relationship by choice. He dies. And this devastating loss is what older Elliot was trying to avoid. The pain of grief.

In a deeply moving scene, older Elliot hugs the young Chad, with the knowledge of their limited time together. Witnessing the pair embrace, it’s impossible not to choke on your own sobs. Young Elliot’s response to the pair embracing is revelatory - she chooses to continue her relationship with Chad fully, understanding that the quality of time matters far more than its quantity. Time is of no consequence to her. If she gets any time with him at all, she is happy. She is grateful.

Another one of the film’s most powerful moments comes when older Elliot defines healthy love as “safety and freedom all at once” - a definition that perfectly explains the universal human experience of loving and being loved. I have truly never heard a better, more realistic definition of love. Safety and freedom are the healthiest combination in a loving relationship, so I hope this moment in the film resonated with audiences.

Elliot’s character isn’t the only one learning and leading lessons though, Chad also teaches Elliot something in the film, when she points out her strong distaste for goodbyes. Time, and the realities of getting older are going to be full of goodbyes. When you’re young, you can say “see you later” more frequently, as endings aren’t as apparent.

Chad asks Elliot; instead of being weighed down by the sadness of something coming to an end, why don’t we feel happy about the last time we get to do something? Hugging a loved one, riding bikes with friends, moving to a new city - Chad offers a profound perspective on goodbyes, echoing Dr. Seuss’s wisdom, “don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” This is of course easier said than done, because loss and grief are such strong human emotions, but if followed, this advice could lead to a happier and more grateful disposition about the trials of life.

Ultimately, the film argues that being ‘young and dumb’ is not a weakness but a strength. It’s what allows us to be brave, to try new things, and to shape our identities. The older Elliot’s final advice to her younger self encapsulates this beautifully: “Fuck it. Keep being the naive, dumb, poreless, happy, confident, brave, self-centered, optimistic idiot that you are because it’s perfect.”

In reflecting on the film, I realize that our experiences - even those that threaten to break us - are what truly define us. So, I take back what I said before. I wouldn’t warn my younger self to stay away from a boy who will break her heart. I wouldn’t limit her by making her fearful of future decisions. Because without those experiences, she would never be all of the things that make her wonderful and strong.

If someone mapped out your entire life for you, would you want to see it? If there was a book that outlined all of your mistakes and trials, would you actively avoid them? And if you did, would you even be you anymore?

This film imparts two profound and enduring messages. The first speaks to how we measure the richness of life - it’s not about counting the days, months, or years we’re given, but rather how fully we embrace each moment through our capacity to love, learn, and truly live. Whether we have two years or sixty, it’s the depth of our experiences and connections that define our journey. The second truth cuts through societal assumptions: courage knows no age limit. The fire of bravery can burn just as bright in the young as in the old, reminding us that inner strength knows no temporal bounds.

“My Old Ass” (2024) is available to stream on Amazon Prime