Everything Everywhere All at Once is on the lips. The film rightly won almost every award possible, including the Oscars for Best Actress (Michelle Yeoh), Best Supporting Actress (Jamie Lee Curtis), Best Supporting Actor (Ke Huy Quan), Best Director (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), and Best Film.
The film is a remarkable story that is a cross between The Matrix and a Jackie Chan movie and deserves all the adoration that it has received this award season.
The movie is an intersection of ideas and stories that incorporate the concept of cross universes that can be accessed by completing several rituals. This film’s elements also remind me of Sliding Doors, as there is an emotional edge to this film that slowly reveals itself towards the end.
Ke Huy Quan is such an acting treasure, and he is back on the silver screen after a time away. You might remember him in such ’80s classics as Goonies and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. He retired from the cinema due to the limited work available, but it is great to see him using his talent in the role of Waymond Wang.
Everything Everywhere All at Once is a story about the Wang family struggling. A family lost in the nonsense of everyday life. A family business is engulfing their life; they are experiencing an audit by the IRS, and the daughter is complex and moody. But all that is about to change without the Wangs even realizing it.
Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once is a visual feast. What starts as a slow, sleepy film quickly accelerates to become this fast paced film jumping in between universes that mix the art of kung fu and hot dog fingers as the Wang family battles an evil demon who tries to destroy all universes with the everything bagel.
Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang is mesmerizing on the screen—her portrayal of a frustrated woman. Evelyn is a little lost and confused about how she ended up on the journey she is living. There is an underlying anger and frustration in this character that bubbles up and rightly adds to the overall action of each scene—a truly phenomenal performance.
Jamie Lee Curtis as Deirdre Beaubeirdre is perfection, the characterization of a woman who has a little bit of power from her work in the IRS and revels in this tiny bit of control. But this character has many facets in each universe, and Jamie’s delivery is a joy to watch. She is an actor we know from previous work, including Trading Places, A Fish Called Wanda, True Lies, and the Halloween franchise. Lee Curtis can deliver, and she is a great actress that rightly deserved the Oscar this season for her multifaceted performance of Deirdre.
James Hong as Gong Gong, the father of Evelyn Wang, needs to be mentioned as he is an actor with an esteemed career that spans decades. He has been working in Hollywood since the 1950s, and at 94, his performance in this film is outstanding.
Everything Everywhere All at Once is a film that is a surprise. If you are a fan of multi-dimensional stories and universe jumping with over-the-top fight scenes involving every actor, this is the film for you.
This film is a romp and a lot of fun, as who doesn’t love a sci-fi piece that combines almost every genre? A film that will leave you thinking and put a smile on your face.
Everything Everywhere All at Once is currently available on Showtime+ and has limited screening times at your local cinema.
