Small spoilers ahead. Megan Park didn’t set out to make films that comment on the Gen Z experience. Instead, the writer-director of 2021 Fallout and newly released it My old ass She just wanted – like so many filmmakers before her – to make coming-of-age films about the reality of being young today. first with rampant gun violence and school shootings in the US, and more recently with growing old and leaving home. “I like trying to get into the Gen Z space, the YA space, in the most authentic way possible,” Park tells Refinery29, “because I think a lot of people just don’t give them enough credit and try to force-feed. [stories for them]. ”
Which is far from the case when it comes to My old ass. The film follows 18-year-old Elliot (Maisie Stella) who, having grown up on her family’s cranberry farm in the Canadian countryside, is about to head off to the big city (in this case the University of Toronto, Toronto) for her first year at university. And the start of the school year couldn’t come soon enough. That is until a mushrooming trip with her BFFs introduces Elliott to the 39-year-old version of herself (Aubrey Plaza), or in her words, “my old ass.”
While the film opens with a seemingly involved young Elliot, like many 18-year-olds before her, only concerned with getting high, spending time with her friends, and generally avoiding her family (as Elliot’s brother tells her, “All you Talking about leaves, anyway”), this is not all exists in her. What does he do? My old ass so special—aside from the time travel element, of course—is that the film celebrates the best qualities of today’s new generation, namely their curiosity, their adaptability, their constant longing for more, and their authenticity of emotions.
Which, to be clear, isn’t something that all coming-of-age movies — or people IRL — do. Gen Z seems to have a bad reputation these days: being too self-absorbed, having short attention spans, wanting too much (you know, like a planet that’s actually sustainable and still has salmon), and be too individualistic. But this phenomenon is not unique to this generation. Every new kid on the demographic block has outrun those who came before. Millennials were seen as lazymore they worry about the next avocado toast from their careers; Gen X was seen as apathetic and cynical, and the Boomers were (and somewhat still are), considered selfishdestroying the planet for the rest of us.
Coming-of-age movies aren’t unique to Gen Z either. “It’s not just Gen Z,” confirms Maisy Stella. “In a lot of movies, the way to portray a teenager is angry, [saying] “Mom get out of my room.” The now 20-year-old singer was 18 when she made the film, meaning she could step into Elliott’s shoes and experience, and is similarly confused by the hatred of her generation and youth. people generally receive. This mainstream view of Gen Z is what drew Stella to the film in the first place. “I think Megan’s writing gives young people a lot more credit,” she says.
Like Younger Elliott, Stella’s performance does as well, adding a level of depth and relatability to a character that could come across as angsty and unique in any other film. (I know, for Stella, being mad at your mom only to realize “she’s just a girl”, life for the first time isn’t specific to Gen Z, but rather a teenage right of passage) .
@refinery29 It would hit us #ConnieBritton and #AubreyPlaza very! We’re catching up #MaisyStella at #MyOldAss premiere 💖 @Alexa Rhodes ♬ original sound – Refinery29
For all the characteristics that could be perceived as negative, Stella and Park present them as positive. Elliott’s wild and carefree nature as she shampoos and accidentally drives her boat into the docks? It translates to a young woman who is not afraid of adventure. Her desire to leave her hometown? There is a strong appreciation for her limited time with her family. And her inability to *really* listen to the older Elliott’s advice about not pursuing a relationship with Chad (Percy Hines White) who helps on the family farm? It signals curiosity and the desire to make decisions for herself.
Despite how stubborn they may present themselves as, Gen Z hectare adaptable and open to self-reflection and change. We see this firsthand in Younger Elliott, as – influenced by Older Elliott’s advice – she begins to spend more time with her parents and younger siblings. Although initially upset at the news that her family is selling the farm after she leaves for college, Elliott soon realizes that her selfish desire to keep her childhood home is misplaced. her family wants to move on. And, unlike repulsion, he finally accepts this reality and embraces the change.
It’s exactly these traits that bigger heads could learn from. When Younger Elliott meets her older self, the latter is much more reserved and withdrawn, especially when it comes to love and openness to new experiences. There is, of course, a reason for this. A lot has happened in the 20 years since that last summer at home, as viewers find out through phone calls between the Elliotts that give us a glimpse into the future, which apparently includes the complete depletion of salmon. (Park says it’s a “tongue in cheek” allusion.) where is the world going).
More seriously though, there is a certain kind of fear that comes from knowing what pain and hardship life will bring. But as Younger Elliott says in her old ass, there’s strength and bravery that only comes from being a young person who’s curious about the world and isn’t afraid to throw themselves into it—even if they know full well they might get hurt . As Younger Elliott says, “If you weren’t young and dumb, you’d never be brave enough to do anything. If you knew how stupid and unfair life would be, you would never leave your home.” It’s a poignant moment of realization for Older Elliott, and for viewers of all ages who may find themselves in a similar mindset whether it’s dating, careers, and putting themselves out there.
“In a weird way, it’s Older Elliott’s lesson at the end of the day,” says Park. The lesson is one that Park herself — who is closer to Older Elliott in age — learned while writing the film and immersing herself in his world. My old ass. “You have to go through everything. Your life is going to happen and… ultimately, at the end of the day, you have to be 18 and you have to go through all these things and live it as it happens,” says Park. “Would you really change everything?”
For Younger Elliott, and ultimately Older Elliott, the answer is no. Because the good and the bad are what make life exactly what it is and worth living. It’s a message that only Gen Z can convey because of a unique and specific level of chaos the generation it has been thrown through the tumultuous (aka garbage fire) of an era in which they are growing up. “They’ve had to experience a lot, they’ve had to face much harsher truths than my generation did much earlier in life, so there’s an awareness.”
An awareness and, as Younger Elliott shows her older self, an ability to push forward despite this fact. To continue living. “[Older Elliott] it reminds me of everything she once knew,” adds Stella. “Because taking things for granted and being in the moment are all important, but also [important is] to not limit yourself and still be brave and open and willing to do things that are scary.”
It’s a message the Younger Elliott would have cringed at first My old ass (the cheesiness!), but in the end, she has – along with her older self – fully embraced. Now, that’s growth.
My Old Ass hits theaters on September 13.
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