My Old AssReview: Aubrey Plaza Stars in a Funny, Moving Romantic Fantasy

Mar. 15, 2025

Stella and Plaza play the same woman at ages 18 and 39.Photo:MARNI GROSSMAN /amazon

MARNI GROSSMAN /amazon

In the years since her delightfully caustic performance onNBC’sParks and Recreation,Aubrey Plazahas slowly revealed herself as an actress who can convey snark, sorrow and soul in the same breath.

She’s not a dazzler, someone who can boldly seize a film — there’s too much thought and calculation going on behind the eyes, too much ambiguity in the smile. But she does what she does better than anyone else could.

There was season 2 of HBO’sWhite Lotus,where she was Emmy-nominated for her turn as a lawyer smoldering over marital discord, as well as the small but intriguing filmsIngrid Goes West(2017) andEmily the Criminal(2022), for which she was an Independent Spirit Award nominee.

What other actress would have the attitude to star in a film with the sarcastically undignified titleMy Old Ass?But this is actually a sweet, funny and quietly devastating romantic fantasy, and Plaza’s touching performance is what shapes the dramatic arc, making a tale of springtime into one that begins to approach autumn.

The film starts on a note of youth, innocence and adventure. Eighteen-year-old Elliott(Maisy Stella)is charming, intelligent, a bit silly and eager to get through the rest of her summer, even though she lives in a visually idyllic Canadian lake region calledMuskoka,where the calm waters mirror blue skies and deep-green trees.

Older Elliott (Plaza) is careful not to overshare details of the future before disappearing, but she makes a point to warn younger Elliott to steer clear of someone named Chad.

Kerrice Brooks, left, Maisy Stella and Maddie Ziegler.amazon studios

amazon studios

But what is Elliott to do about the other Elliott’s stern warning? Can an 18-year-old really be expected to follow the advice of someone who’s almost 40, even if they’re the same person?

This is all beguiling and strange, with the light ease of a skipping stone. ButOld Assturns out to be a lovely late-summer weepie, with Plaza delivering a scene of genuine heartbreak. The moment comes and goes like the shadow of a cloud passing over Muskoka, but it leaves a mournful chill. Stella, as the younger Elliott, is a bit like Alicia Silverstone — she can convey innocence, coltish happiness and, finally, rare romantic courage without any hint of calculation.

My Old Assis in select theaters now.

source: people.com