Everything Everywhere All at Once is a science fiction black comedy written and directed by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. The plot follows a Chinese-American woman, being audited by the IRS, who discovers that she has the power to exist in parallel universes and must help prevent the destruction of them all. There were some very talented editors and writers at work on this film. From the trailer, you would never guess what the film was really going to be about. I found this movie to be funny, way over the top, and extremely weird, to say the least. However, it was entertaining and not for everyone.
Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) is a Chinese-American woman who runs a struggling laundromat with her husband, Waymond Wang (Ke Huy Quan). Tensions in the household are high due to the laundromat being audited by the IRS. Additionally, Waymond is trying to serve divorce papers to his wife. Evelyn’s father, Gong Gong (Ke Huy Quan), her Cantonese grandfather has just arrived from China and Evelyn’s daughter, Joy (Stephanie Hsu), has been trying to get her mother to accept her girlfriend, Becky (Tallie Medel).
While being audited by Deirdre Beaubeirdra (Jamie Lee Curtis), at the IRS building, Waymond’s personality changes when his body is briefly taken over by Alpha Waymond. Alpha Waymond explains to Evelyn that many parallel universes exist since every choice someone makes creates a new universe. The people of the Alpha Universe, led by the late Alpha Evelyn, developed “verse-jumping” technology that allows people to access the body, skills, and memories, of their parallel universe counterparts. The multiverse is being threatened by Jobu Tupaki, formerly Joy in the Alpha Universe. Her mind was splintered after Alpha Evelyn pushed her to extensively verse-jump; Jobu Tupaki now experiences all universes at once and can verse-jump and manipulate matter at will, and has created a black hole-like “everything bagel” that can potentially destroy the multiverse. Alpha Waymond believes that Evelyn, who is the greatest failure of all the Evelyns of all universes, is being hunted by Jobu Tupaki because her untapped potential can allow her to defeat Jobu Tupaki.
Confused yet? This movie is exactly like the above synopsis so if you couldn’t follow what you just read, don’t see the movie unless you’re a person who can understand better by sight. There are some very funny moments but more very confusing moments. You probably won’t be able to piece it all together until near the end of the movie. There’s not much more I can say about Everything Everywhere All at Once because of its complexity. Truly, this film is not for everyone, as it puts your brain on overload. If you decide to see it, don’t say I didn’t warn you. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 97% of 164 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.8/10. The website’s consensus reads, “Led by an outstanding Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once lives up to its title with an expertly calibrated assault on the senses.” Everything Everywhere All at Once is now playing in theaters — Check It Out!
[EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE is Oscar-nominated at the 95th Academy Awards for BEST: Picture, Directing, Actress, Supporting Actor, 2 Supporting Actress nominations, Costume Design, Film Editing, Music (Original Score), Music (Original Song), and Writing (Original Screenplay) — Totaling 11 nominations]
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