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Aubrey Plaza plays the older, wiser version of herself in 'My Old Ass'

LEILA FADEL, BYLINE: If you could go back in time and give some advice to your teenage self, what would it be? I have so many things I would say. And that's the question at the center of a new movie. Elliott is an 18-year-old girl, partying in the woods near a lake with some friends. They experiment with mushrooms. And while she's high, she meets her 39-year-old self.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "MY OLD A**")

AUBREY PLAZA: (As Older Elliott) Dude, I'm you.

MAISY STELLA: (As Elliott) You're me?

PLAZA: (As Older Elliott) What's up (laughter)?

FADEL: She's as real as you or me. Young Elliott asks questions. Older Elliott offers a glimpse into her future.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "MY OLD A**")

STELLA: (As Elliott) Just tell me something good.

PLAZA: (As Older Elliott) Something good.

STELLA: (As Elliott) Why are you struggling to find something good...

PLAZA: (As Older Elliott) Ooh...

STELLA: (As Elliott) ...From the future?

PLAZA: (As Older Elliott) ...This is good.

STELLA: (As Elliott) OK.

PLAZA: (As Older Elliott) You're going to be psyched...

STELLA: (As Elliott) OK.

PLAZA: (As Older Elliott) ...To know...

STELLA: (As Elliott) Tell me.

PLAZA: (As Older Elliott) ...That you are a Ph.D. student.

STELLA: (As Elliott) Did you just tell me I'm in my 40s, and I'm still in school?

PLAZA: (As Older Elliott) Thirties - 30s.

FADEL: Older Elliott then gives one cryptic warning - one thing she absolutely must not do. And you can guess what happens when you tell a teenager not to do something. The movie is called "My Old A**." The older Elliott is played by Aubrey Plaza. It was written and directed by Megan Park.

MEGAN PARK: I started out with just the feeling of being really nostalgic. I was home in Canada. It's such a beautiful place. And I was like, why did I ever want to leave here?

FADEL: (Laughter).

PARK: Sleeping in my childhood bedroom and just thinking about the last time, like, my whole family had all slept under the same roof together - and if I'd known it was the last time, would I have appreciated it more? - and things like that. And then it was sort of this idea of, like, if I could talk to my younger self, would I even want to? And then the mushrooms came much later.

FADEL: Aubrey, the central theme of this movie is, as Megan pointed out, cherish the moment you're in now. What drew you to the script and the character?

PLAZA: I love the combination of, like, it having this really high concept with this weird time-travelly (ph), magical element to it, but then it also just has this really grounded and subtle nature to it. So I just - I thought - it's my favorite kind of movie. And then character-wise, I just - I don't know. I just - I think the concept really spoke to me. You know, I turned 40 this summer. I was 38, 39 when I was shooting the movie...

FADEL: Right.

PLAZA: ...So I understood it. I kind of - it hit me in the kind of moment where I'm at in my real life.

FADEL: You and Maisy Stella, who plays the younger Elliott, at 18 - you're so great on screen together. How did you work together to play the same person two decades apart?

PARK: We sent Aubrey some dailies to kind of watch Maisy's physicality, but we tried to not get caught up too much on, like, mimicking, although you did do that.

PLAZA: Although I did some - I did a little mimicking.

PARK: You did, but...

FADEL: Yeah.

PLAZA: You know, and I was not mimicking, but, like, she's got a Canadian accent, kind of.

PARK: Yeah, like, a Canadian Nashville accent.

PLAZA: A Canadian Nashville accent.

PARK: (Laughter).

PLAZA: It was a very interesting - oh, my God. I don't know. There were little things that I felt like, if I could just infuse little moments here and there, like, it'll kind of help make it feel right. But it was more about capturing her spirit, I think.

PARK: Aubrey has two younger sisters, and there was just, like, this, like, maternal warmth to her. And I could tell that she took to Maisy so quickly, and there was just this really beautiful energy between them. I think the greatest actors can build chemistry so quickly, and Aubrey is, like, a master at that. And not only that - it was, like, truly a master class in watching the improv. And the back-and-forth in the campfire scene was so funny, obviously.

FADEL: Aubrey, what stood out to you about Megan as a director?

PARK: Oh, gosh.

PLAZA: Well, the first thing was...

FADEL: Not to put you on the spot.

(LAUGHTER)

PLAZA: In real life, the first way I met Megan - we had a Zoom before. She kept saying to me on the Zoom, like, it's going to be a really good vibe. And now...

PARK: (Laughter) Says myself (ph).

PLAZA: You said that. But I was like, is it? And then cut to when I met her in person for the first time. I was on the dock of my place, where they put me on the lake, and hers was across the lake. And she just paddled up to me wearing, like, a life jacket and, like, holding a bottle of champagne.

PARK: (Laughter).

PLAZA: And I was like, I've never met a director like this. And she really did create a very good vibe.

FADEL: Now, Aubrey, in the film, you give the younger Elliott some good, pretty simple wisdom that comes with age - don't take family for granted. Wear your retainer. Moisturize. If you think about 18-year-old you, what would you tell her if she conjured you when drinking shroom tea in a forest?

PLAZA: Eighteen-year-old me - like, I've thought about it a lot. I think I would tell her to, like, enjoy the ride a little bit more. I think I was so ambitious as a young person. And I was so tortured and wanting my dreams to come true so bad and all of these things that, like - I don't know. I would just probably say, like, be in the moment. Enjoy it. You know, it's all going to kind of unravel and work out the way it's supposed to.

FADEL: Yeah, I relate to that (laughter). Aubrey, I don't know if you know this, but you're kind of a big deal. Between "Parks And Rec," "White Lotus" - you know, people know you, and they love you in this deadpan approach.

PLAZA: They do not.

FADEL: They do (laughter).

PLAZA: They wish.

(LAUGHTER)

FADEL: I mean, they think they know you (laughter).

PLAZA: No, I know. I'm kidding.

FADEL: I mean, when you were talking about talking to your younger self and telling them to appreciate the moment, do you appreciate the moment right now?

PLAZA: I do. I think I do. I try. I really try. I think I'm always slightly tortured. I don't know why, OK? I'm trying my best, but...

PARK: I think you do.

FADEL: Do you need...

PARK: You live in the moment, actually.

PLAZA: I do. I do live in the moment. I think having perspective on, like, my career and, like, where I'm at in that way - like, I have a hard time with that because I - in my mind, I'm, like, moving right along. Moving right along, going to the next thing or whatever - like, I don't have, like, perspective on that. But I'm able to, like, be in the very, you know, tiny moments.

FADEL: Do you need 60-year-old you to come back and give you some advice?

PLAZA: Yes. We were just saying this yesterday.

PARK: Yeah.

PLAZA: I was like - 'cause on the other thing that I'm promoting right now with Patty LuPone - I've been around her for so much time.

PARK: Is she your old a**? And she's my old a**, and I'm like...

FADEL: (Laughter).

PARK: (Inaudible).

PLAZA: ...Man, I cannot wait until I'm 75 years old, and I'm just going to be just like Patty.

PARK: She's 75?

PLAZA: I think she's 75.

PARK: God, she's so cool.

PLAZA: And you would never know, but she's the coolest. But, yeah, I just - I can't wait. It's like, I'll just have even more permission to just be insane. It'll be great.

FADEL: The movie "My Old A**" is written and directed by Megan Park, and it stars Aubrey Plaza. Thank you both so much.

PARK: Thanks for having us.

PLAZA: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE WHO SONG, "BABA O'RILEY") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Leila Fadel is a national correspondent for NPR based in Los Angeles, covering issues of culture, diversity, and race.
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