Your future has some important advice in “My Old Ass”

It’s usually the desire to talk to your younger self. Right all those wrongs, dodge that bad heartbreak, buy some crypto when it was dirt cheap. This hypothetical scenario is where we take comfort with the knowledge our lived experience has granted us. How nice it’d be to put that hindsight to use. However, you tend to picture yourself giving advice to your past self. The reversal of this, to be told by your future self all the things you should and shouldn’t do, feels less appealing. We don’t want someone to spoil us on all the choices that lie ahead, stealing our autonomy even if it’s supposedly for our own good. Yet both scenarios are the same. All that has changed is whether or not you’re the one giving the advice.

In “My Old Ass,” writer-director Megan Park has us identify with a character on the receiving end. Elliot (played by Maisy Stella) is in the middle of her last summer before going off to college, the final time for a coming of age story to take place before a person transforms from a brat into a jerk. It’s familiar territory; Elliot neglects her family for friends and hookups, while rejecting their cranberry farm for dreams of college life in the city. The standard tale gets a nice genre flourish thanks to the time travel element, which is wisely kept subdued in order to keep the focus on our lead. After downing some magic mushrooms, Elliot hallucinates her future self (played by Aubrey Plaza), or rather, her “old ass.” I suspect viewers that are older than 39 will take the same offense that Plaza’s character does at the nickname.

The young and old Elliot hit it off during the trip, caring little about how they’re able to talk across a 21 year gap. Park knows that any type of explanation would be ridiculous and pokes fun at time travel paradoxes by having the characters flat out say they don’t know how it works. This is especially convenient when the drug trip ends and the young ass sees her old ass in her contacts the next day. The conversations continue via texts and calls. Some may ask how on Earth that would work, while others may presume Elliot is stepping into schizophrenic territory, but the movie stays on thematic target.

The advice Elliot receives from her older self is the type of stuff coming of age cliches are made of: Spend more time with your mom, be nice to your brothers, make sure you come back and visit when you’re in college. What keeps it from getting stale are the two actresses. Stella strikes a perfect balance of being immature without being obnoxious. Her character has plenty to learn, as all high school grads do, but under her misguided confidence is a charisma that keeps us rooting for her. As for Plaza, she’s right at home with this material. Ever since her start on “Parks and Recreation,” she’s continued to excel in roles that play off her exhaustion of everyone that’s not her. Acting across herself, it brings out a warmer side that’s still coated in her signature delivery.

All this makes for an easy-going story, even as the plot creeps in with a single specific warning from the older Elliot: Avoid anyone named “Chad.” Who else would that be other than the cute boy helping on the family farm for the summer? Played by Percy Hynes White, he charms his way through Elliot’s vulgar guard, all while the mystery of her senior’s warning skews their tender moments.

I enjoyed the budding romance between Stella and White’s characters more than I should have; there’s a nostalgic sweetness between them, even if Chad is barely a character himself. This farm boy is love interest fodder, cut from the same cloth as a manic pixie dream girl. Similarly, Elliot’s friends and family feel underutilized, simply going through the motions of reminding her that childhood is ending, adulthood is beginning, and that she doesn’t have as much time as she thought. It doesn’t help that Plaza’s character goes radio silent for a significant chunk of the back half, though the young Elliot’s attempt to bring her back is one of the film’s best gags.

As familiar as the story is, the casual approach Park takes makes “My Old Ass” a delight. I especially enjoyed the unique setting of rural Canadian waters, which has its own cozy charm. We follow Elliot enough to get a great sense of her serene world; she navigates lakes and creeks in a rickety motorboat, surrounded by an endless forest of green. Part of me was left wondering why she’s so eager to get out of such a peaceful place. Perhaps it’s the shortsightedness that comes with youth. Or maybe it’s because by the time the credits roll, it’d already be too cold to enjoy.

I recommend “My Old Ass” to anyone who feels nostalgic for youth, eager for adulthood, or is curious about vacationing in Quebec.  “My Old Ass” opens in theaters on September 27.