Continuing my countdown of last year’s best films…

Best Films of 2024
#6. My Old Ass

Every year lately seems to offer up one great coming-of-age movie about a young woman — a genre I refer to as my cinematic kryptonite. Two years ago it was Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret., preceded by Aftersun (2022) and CODA (2021).

Last year’s winner in the category was My Old Ass, writer/director Megan Park’s magical realist dramedy about a girl who meets her older self while tripping on mushrooms.

This movie toes the line between irreverent comedy and effective sentimentality, serving up a potent cocktail of laughter and tears. What makes it so great is that neither feel forced. The film’s depth of character and sense of place ground everything beautifully.

Credit Park’s script and direction but also the lovely performances by Maisy Stella, as 18-year-old Elliott, and Aubrey Plaza, as Elliott at age 39. Their chemistry during the lengthy dialogue scene that establishes the film’s premise lays the groundwork for everything to come.

During the summer before she leaves for college, Elliott is encouraged by her older self to spend as much time as she can with her parents and brothers, and to avoid a local guy named Chad. She does a pretty good job at the former and a miserable job at the latter.

Stella is delightfully vulnerable, selling Elliott’s tornado of emotions while appearing in nearly every scene. Plaza disappears for much of the runtime, but returns near the end to deliver a powerhouse scene that packs an even bigger wallop in light of recent events in her life.

I love that Park doesn’t dive into the mechanics of this sci-fi premise, allowing the questions it raises (Is old Elliott a hallucination or a time traveler? Can other people see her?) get answered in surprising and satisfying ways.

Finally, I have to mention the film’s setting, a cranberry farm on Lake Muskoka in Ontario. It’s such a sweetly specific and lovingly rendered locale, and it helps sell the film’s overall authenticity.