Everything Everywhere All At Once
★★★★1/2
No spoilers
Laundromat owner Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh) must grapple with a multitude of issues, including potential eviction from her premises, being emotionally estranged from her daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu), feeling disappointed with husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan) and being a disappointment to her father Gong Gong (James Hong). But things are about to get worse when another Waymond from another multiverse (also Ke) appears to recruit Evelyn to fight in a multiversal war and save the world.
It’s interesting that there are two separate movies about the multiverse (the other one being Dr Strange 2) playing at the same time right now that couldn’t be more different in feel and approach. But they both have protagonists with a third eye on their foreheads. It’s like they’re each their own multiversal branch-offs. I’m a Sam Raimi fan, but even I have to admit that the title Multiverse of Madness would have been better suited to this far more bonkers Michelle Yeoh flick. The multiversal concept is more creatively utilized here whereas Raimi’s film only conservatively toys with it.
Fret not, this isn’t a stuffy arthouse treatment, but a surprisingly fast-paced, genre-leaning, effects-laden sci-fi actioner with a strong dose of family drama at its core. So, not only do you get to see Yeoh bringing her action chops, but flex her acting ones too. I still think her best performance was in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but she gets to do more here, and it’s a blast to see that.
Another great highlight is the “return” of Ke Huy Quan playing a lead role as Yeoh’s husband Waymond, most well-known for his role as Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. It’s hard to believe that he has done very little acting in almost 40 years, because he so effortlessly juggled a myriad of alternate Waymond characters like a pro, including one that could have been a Tony Leung role in a Wong Kar Wai flick. His character struck close to home for me, but that’s a discussion for another time.
It’s no secret that 93-year-old legend James Hong is in this film also, and no, it isn’t just a fleeting cameo, but there was one other casting that was a genuine surprise for me, and she was terrifically funny and was completely relishing her role. I won’t spoil it here for those who don’t watch trailers and follow entertainment news. Stephanie Hsu also did a decent job here having to go toe-to-toe with so many acting legends during the dramatic moments.
The only very minor gripe is that the Daniels (directing duo Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert of Swiss Army Man fame) piled on the silly or gross-out humour a little too much, that they sometimes took the wind out of a few dramatic moments.
Nevertheless, this is still a very heartfelt, adult story about family, nestled within a visually frenetic and funny film where sex toys can be used to access the multiverse. For people who griped about the lack of originality in blockbuster films, it’s time to walk the talk and watch this film instead. Highly recommended!
Originally published on my Facebook Page, here.