Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

The early 1990s was a thrilling time to be watching movies.  Granted, out of boredom and not wanting to sit around looking at four walls all day I spent way too much time going to movies every weekend and saw lots of trash.  Happily, that trash usually only cost me $3.00 a pop, since I largely stuck to matinees and midnight showings.  Even adjusting for inflation, where discount showings today are ridiculous amounts, this was a bargain.  It wasn't the price that made the difference, however; it was that the indie movie was king.

There were blockbusters, and they were often lots of fun, but these were a handful of films meant for a certain time of year and was generally where the studio did blow a good portion of their money.  This left a lot of room throughout that time period for smaller films which typically were the ones that made the profit or could end up being the big surprise that broke a new director to the public.  It got to be where many of these films, such as Clerks, Reservoir Dogs and Bottle Rocket even made into the big chain theaters rather than being limited to the art houses.  If people were willing to spend their cash on a black and white film a bunch of kids made about working at a convenience store during their off hours from working at the convenience store, and it put butts in the seats, no one complained.

Corporations, whether involved in the arts or not, are always risk adverse.  There was no risk in many of these films because someone else already spent the money making them and, as long as they were halfway good, word of mouth and critical acclaim would get people curious.  If anything they would turn their profit on cable or video even if they only broke even in the theaters.  Unfortunately, that risk adversity has translated to modern times and a dearth of smaller films that fill in the gaps between the Marvel, D.C. and Star Wars franchises.  That's where a studio like A24 comes in.  Though known largely for horror films such as Midsommar and X, A24 is one of the last bastions for independent film makers, and unlike Miramax they don't have to worry about getting their films, or themselves, touched inappropriately.  There seems to be some real love for creativity, and financially it has worked out quite well, most recently with the Asian-American science fiction martial arts family comedy-drama Everything Everywhere All at Once, an appropriate name if any since there are certainly genres I left out of that description.

Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) is the owner of a laundromat.  She is taking care of her father Gong Gong (James Hong), who had disowned her for marrying her husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan), who is looking for the right time to tell her he wants a divorce.  Her relationship with her daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu) is fractured and, to top it all off, her failing business is being audited by the I.R.S., having to face a particularly nasty and racist agent named Deirde Beaubeirdre (Jamie Lee Curtis).  Everything she ever wanted in life has passed her by, and she has pretty much given up.

While on the way to her audit Waymond begins acting strange and gives her instructions.  The instructions involve what appear to be random things, but soon result in her discovering that she is one of an infinite number of Evelyns living side by side in different realities.  The version of her husband from what they call the Alpha universe has contacted her, letting her know she is the only one that can save reality from a creature called Jobu Tupaki, which is looking for one particular Evelyn with whom to complete her plans, which remain unknown to the "verse jumpers" from Alpha.  Thrown into a situation she barely understands, Evelyn must face up to her own family issues, as well as her fears, as she discovers the path to saving everyone she cares for. 

The problem with a movie like this is that there is a danger that, as popular as it has become, the backlash will be horrible.  I have already seen that in some ways, with its intended audience (Asian-Americans wanting positive portrayal of their culture and sci-fi action fans wanting something other than superheroes) pretty much seeing and re-seeing it already.  It did well enough to get a second cinematic release over the summer, with added footage, and already the more casual viewers are complaining about the style and the quick switchover between languages - something that is true to life - or that they just don't understand anything going on.  Everything does expect the viewer to pay attention, and it's a given that a movie from the same guys that did Swiss Army Man - which starred Daniel Ratcliffe as a flatulent corpse - is definitely not going to be for everyone. 

That said, I think after Swiss Army Man there is some pressure on Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert to up the weirdness factor.  Although it is important to listen to the explanation of what is going on, the central plot is rather easy to understand once the rules are in place, and almost all the action takes place within the laundromat and at the I.R.S. building.  The effects were done well, especially considering budget and the fact that everyone involved with them learned as they went, but the economy of locations is where the budget pokes through a bit.  To cover this up the Daniels seem to think that being off-the-wall, with worlds where people have hot dog fingers and others with sentient rocks, is the way to get a bit more mileage out of their concept.  Unfortunately, for everything that works - the rocks in particular - there is something that doesn't.  Personally, the hot-dog-finger world is one of the worst ideas in the film.  Creative, yes, and the relationship Evelyn has there is one of the most poignant, but too much of that reality is played as a joke - and for gross-out humor, which is done much better with some questionably shaped trophies during one of the fights - and it undercuts some truly sweet moments that parallel with her relationship with Waymond in her own world. 

Although the identity of Jobu Tupaki is revealed early on, I won't do that here, but I will say that one of the best choices was not to keep the audience in suspense on that the whole movie.  Her identity is important, but knowing it early on and knowing the why of everything makes a lot more sense - and even delves into shame and depression in a useful way - that it is quite effective.  Although this is a movie where things are constantly happening, there is an undercurrent of love and family the permeates throughout, and I think this is what ultimately has connected with audiences more than all the outrageousness that happens.

It also helps that there is a great set of actors here.  Stephanie Hsu was the only one I wasn't as familiar with, although she had a small part in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.  She's done a lot of television and voiceover work, largely on things that outside my interest, but that just made it unpredictable on what she would be like, and she shines just like everyone else.  It is great to see James Hong still acting at the age of 92, and it's nice that he also gets in on the action. 

I kind of wish I had seen this before reading and hearing all the hype about it.  It may also be that, even though I am one of its intended audiences, I have seen similar films over the years and am not so amazed as maybe someone would be coming into this thinking it's a martial arts fantasy film.  It has great action, holds together well and is wonderfully directed, but it would behoove the Daniels in the future to pull back a little and restrain themselves a bit.  There is so much here that deserves to be at the forefront beyond just being a strange movie everyone suddenly discovered.  However, if it does help A24 usher in a new indie renaissance after all this time, then I'll be happy with it the way it is. 

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

Time: 139 minutes

Starring: Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu, James Hong, Jamie Lee Curtis

Directors: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert