Everything Everywhere All At Once Movie Review
Nathan Swank
April 19th, 2022
Written and directed by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE is a revelation in imaginative movie making.
Starring Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang, a mother and wife who feels a bit stuck in her life as a laundromat owner, the story begins as the family bills and work seem to be all-consuming. Evelyn’s husband Waymond, played by Ke Huy Quan, has an optimistic outlook with a thirst for playfulness, even if it is somewhat disruptive. Their teenage daughter Joy, played by Stephanie Hsu, doesn’t have a great relationship with her mother and wants her choice to come out to her grandfather, played by the great James Hong, to be supported and respected. Things begin to look dire when they don’t have all the correct IRS forms and receipts prepared during their meeting with an auditor, played by a wonderful Jamie Lee Curtis. But a strange thing happens as a multiverse opens up and Evelyn is unlocked into many variations of her own world, characters, and powers to hopefully change the outcome of their destiny.
The Marvel Universe has opened up a multiverse in recent films such as SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME and upcoming DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS. And while I have enjoyed the idea and ambition, they don’t quite rise to the level of originality within the writing. Don’t get me wrong, I think they are fun hangs combining past films and characters together. But EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE is on another level of creative writing and Marvel should really take note. Granted there is a bit of limitation when you have rules on such a long standing established product like Marvel. And maybe the oversaturated market in superhero movies helps EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE stand out even more as an original piece of work. There is a joy and energy that pours from the film that I have personally missed seeing in the last couple of years.
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE is a breath of fresh air in movie making. All the actors seem to be having a blast playing along in the absolute madness in their ridiculous and hilarious characteristics through different universes. Giant rubber hands and a RATATOUILLE themed universe are a couple of my personal favorites. It is a blast seeing the talents of Michelle Yeoh, James Hong, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Ke Huy Quan, who you might remember from childhood favorite films GOONIES and INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM.
I can’t recommend EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE enough. It might be a bit too out there for some. But I believe those who embrace the original and creative force are in for one wild ride with a few positive and emotional themes that might even manage to pull a tear or two or, like this audience member, several.
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