Michael's Movie Grade: B
A sweet and good natured if very familiar coming of age of dramedy.
From a movie called My Old Ass, you might expect something irreverent and very vulgar. Instead, this is a surprisingly charming and conventional film. The title refers to how 18-year-old Elliott meets her 39-year-old self while tripping on mushrooms (the sex-obsessed teenager asks herself, "can I touch my old ass"). Though much of the advertising revolves around Aubery Plaza as the 39-year-old Elliott, she receives very little screen time though. Most of the film revolves around the 18-year-old Elliott trying to navigate her way around a tricky part of her life, while heeding the advice she got from her old ass. Luckily Maisy Stella is truly wonderful as the 18-year-old Elliott, capturing a charm and youthful energy that makes it hard not to like her. There are times she can be a little selfish, but we instantly forgive her because in these moments we see our 18-year-old selves more than we might like to admit. These moments also make her feel more real and human to us. This makes the emotional moments hit very hard at times. This movie has a familiar but very well told message about cherishing the things we have in the moment and not taking them for granted. We all have parts about our lives that we would like back (for me that is the summers I spent with my grandparents) and because of this we can all deeply appreciate the heart behind this film. As well as an emotionally resonant film, this movie breezes by at only an hour and a half.
The humor in this film made me smile and giggle at times. However, despite this I never once laughed out loud.
The storyline does feel too familiar at times and despite its clever premise, it has a hard time standing out from other coming-of-age films. Also, most of the supporting characters are not as interesting or fun as Elliott herself.
Despite its familiarity, this movie is a real charmer.
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