Aubrey Plaza’s brand-new coming-of-age movie My Old Ass is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video and handles one common issue in this genre perfectly. My Old Ass chronicles Elliott’s journey into adulthood, which becomes rather unusual when she trips on mushrooms in the woods with her friends and ends up encountering her older self. Throughout the movie, it’s not entirely clear if Older Elliott is real or a hallucination caused by the mushrooms. While the My Old Ass ending leaves the answer somewhat ambiguous, most signs point to Older Elliott being real.
Whether Older Elliott is real or not ultimately becomes inconsequential, particularly because My Old Ass is really about Elliott learning to appreciate her family. This is in part accomplished by Older Elliott’s reveals about the future, but Older Elliott also manages to convince Elliott to see the error of her ways with her family and learn to live in the now. One of the most significant examples of this extends far beyond just My Old Ass and is the perfect solution to a massive problem with coming-of-age movies, especially about young women.
My Old Ass Doesn’t Make Aging Seem Miserable
Despite The Title Of My Old Ass, Aging Is Presented In A Positive Light
The title of My Old Ass is clearly a joke that plays upon the idea that Older Elliott is out of touch and has aged considerably, despite the character being just 39 in the movie. Elliott teases Older Elliott about her age throughout My Old Ass, in fact, including by calling her middle-aged, which (playfully) irritates Older Elliott. Despite these jokes and Elliott’s perception of Older Elliott as quite a bit older than she really is, it’s clear that these comments don’t extend beyond jokes.
My Old Ass presents aging in a positive light.
On the contrary, My Old Ass presents aging in a positive light, with Older Elliott seeming wiser and more compassionate compared to some of Elliott’s more selfish and impulsive behaviors, such as sneaking off to do mushrooms rather than spending time with her family before she departs for college. It’s also clear throughout the movie that Elliott genuinely relies on the opinion of her older self, suggesting that Older Elliott becomes a figure Elliott respects. This is a major shift away from the common perception of aging in coming-of-age movies, which often shows the protagonist afraid of growing old.
My Old Ass’ Positive Representation Of Aging Extends Beyond Aubrey Plaza’s Elliott
Elliott’s Relationship With Her Mother Takes A Rare But Beautiful Turn
While it’s delightful to see a character in her late 30s presented as funny, charming, and witty, it isn’t just Older Elliott who serves as a positive representation of older age among My Old Ass’ cast of characters. Elliott’s mother is also shown respect and is ultimately someone Elliott grows to appreciate much more. This dynamic between Elliott and her mother is perhaps even more revolutionary than the depiction of Older Elliott. All too often, coming-of-age movies focused on teenage girls place mother and daughter opposite one another, with mothers seeming like they just don’t understand.
All too often, coming-of-age movies focused on teenage girls place mother and daughter opposite one another, with mothers seeming like they just don’t understand.
My Old Ass avoids this entirely. While Elliott starts off avoiding her family and not recognizing how wonderful her parents and brothers truly are, by the end of the movie, it’s clear that Elliott sees how much her mother has done for her. What’s more, this revelation comes without Elliott first disparaging her mother or her mother being represented in a negative light. This is a huge change from other coming-of-age stories like Freaky Friday, which very specifically shows intense divisions between mothers and their daughters.
Related Why Elliott’s Family Has To Make That Choice With The Cranberry Farm In My Old Ass In My Old Ass, Elliott learns that her parents have made a shocking decision about the cranberry farm that has been in their family for generations.
My Old Ass Shows What Coming-Of-Age Stories Should Be
Too Often, Older Adulthood Is Treated Like The End
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My Old Ass truly is a perfect example of what coming-of-age stories should be, especially for movies about young women. In theory, coming-of-age stories are about the protagonists beginning their life, but these movies tend to reinforce stereotypes about women’s value being based on youth and beauty. My Old Ass pushes back on that not only by having Elliott come to respect Older Elliott but also by Elliott embracing even the more difficult things the future holds, including Chad’s fate.
Hopefully, the success of My Old Ass will mean a shift in approach for coming-of-age movies such as this one. Particularly casting a star such as Aubrey Plaza in an older role suggests that these stories can present aging in a positive way and still be incredibly popular. Whether My Old Ass creates this shift or not, though, this movie is a thrilling update to the more common representation of aging as something to be feared.