In (kind of) a time travel comedy My old ass, 18-year-old Elliott (Maisy Stella) travels with a bunch of mushrooms and comes face-to-face with her older self, played by Aubrey Plaza. The older Elliott has some words of wisdom for her younger self: mostly vague advice about slowing down and enjoying more time with her family. Younger! Elliott listens and finds this guide helpful.

But bigger! Elliott gives himself one more specific warning: Don’t fall in love with Chad (Percy Hynes White), the cute boy who works on Elliott’s family farm during the summer.

Younger! Elliott disregarding this advice ends up being the film’s most compelling theme—and a thread it shares with the cinematic masterpiece Mama Mia! Here we go again. (Yes, for real.)

(Ed. note: This post contains ending spoilers for my old ass – and Mama Mia! Here we go again.)

At first, younger! Elliot is sure that the Chad thing won’t be a problem, considering that previously, she was only attracted to women. But after meeting Chad, she is smitten, causing her to question her own identity. Older though! Elliott is insistent: Don’t fall in love with Chad! Younger! Elliott waits for the other shoe to drop, wondering if Chad is secretly a jerk or something. She eventually confronts her older self, who confesses that Chad will die young and break their hearts.

Right now, writer-director Megan Park digs into her most interesting message yet. After hearing her older self open up about how deeply Chad’s death affected her, the younger! Elliott answers with a “No”. She tells her older self that being young and stupid is a good thing, because if she let the fear of the world change her life, she wouldn’t be living at all. So he will take the pain, because it comes with the opportunity to know and love someone deeply and with abandon.

Some time travel stories allow older versions of characters to try to advise or interfere with their younger selves to help them avoid a traumatic future. My old ass represents a reversal of this idea: the oldest! And that’s something we can take, even without the time travel – which is where Mama Mia of all these enter.

In big, bright finish of Mama Mia! Here we go againthe older and younger versions of the main characters all dance together in one big celebration. Here we go again it’s not quite a time-travel movie, but it does cycle between flashbacks and the present day, painting the story of how free-spirited Donna Sheridan (Lily James) ended up with three potential daddies over the course of one memorable one. summer. We see all the older characters when they were young and foolish, but they also live with a certain admirable fearlessness.

My old ass and Mamma Mia 2 ends with the same message: Your younger self is part of you and always will be. Even though there are things you might have done differently in life and certain outcomes you’d like to avoid, there’s also wisdom to glean from that “young and foolish” self—especially since that young self is the reason you are the way you are today.

My old ass makes the lesson more concrete and tangible with Elliott telling the older her. Mama Mia! Here we go again subtly weaves it together—even if part of that subtlety is a dance party that brings the young and old versions of people together. That ending is a celebration of past and present with no explanation as to how it happens. But is that okay, because in a way, aren’t we all dancing with our younger selves?

My old ass is streaming on Prime Video. Mama Mia! Here we go again it airs on Peacock.