In a world where perhaps none of the studio giants would even consider touching a project that absolutely overflows with elaborate originality and craziness, A24, once again, delivers. This time they bring us Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s (collectively known as Daniels) mind-bending, acid-trip of a film, Everything Everywhere All at Once. This film absolutely blows you away.
Running a failing laundromat with her husband, Waymond Wang (Jonathan Ke Quan), Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) is spread thin with the IRS auditing the family business, trying to plan a Chinese New Year Party, her husband wanting to divorce her, and struggling to accept and connect with her daughter, Joy (Stephanie Hsu). On top of all of that, those who wish to save the multiverse from dangerous Jobu Tupaki (also played by Hsu) come to recruit Evelyn, believing her to be the only version of Evelyn who can get the job done. Her inability to succeed at anything, just might make her the perfect candidate to save everything.
This is what blockbuster film making should be! Everything Everywhere All at Once is one of the most original, balls-to-the-wall, outrageous films to ever be made. With a plot that could have certainly fallen victim to the missteps and over ambitions of a convoluted storyline, this film does anything but that. The detail and care that went into its execution is overwhelmingly apparent in that it succeeds in being a meticulous masterpiece, committed to exploring storylines that are utterly ridiculous while simultaneously staying grounded in universal themes that center around the complications of family. It is absolutely all of over the place, but not without a sense of control and purpose. It keeps you on the edge of your seat, as well as the edge of your emotions. It is a film that will have you cry from laughing and cry from sadness.
Not enough can be said about the cast. Yeoh, Quan, and Hsu never falter once in performances that demand jumping extremes on a moment’s notice. All three leads showcase their immense talent in the physicality as well as the nuances of the never-ending versions of their characters from all different universes. Plus, the legend herself, Jamie Lee Curtis is absolutely hilarious as IRS inspector, Deirdre Beaubeirdra, stealing scenes at quite a few points with perfect ridiculousness.
There is nothing off limits in this movie. Characters with hotdogs for fingers? Sure. A whole sequence where the characters are rocks? Absolutely. It is hard to explain just how utterly insane this picture is, and any attempt to really try and do that would be a great injustice. As just their second film directed together the Daniels have created something wholly unique and unforgettable in Everything Everywhere All at Once. You have to see it to believe it, and when you walk out of the theater, you will not be the same person.
And if you are going to dive into this beautiful madness, make sure you go see it in the theater! This is a film that belongs on the big screen in perpetuity.
Everything Everywhere All at Once is now playing in theaters.
MPAA Rating: R for some violence, sexual material and language.
Runtime: 139 mins
Director: Dan Kwan; Daniel Scheinert
Writer: Dan Kwan; Daniel Scheinert
Cast: Michelle Yeoh; Stephanie Hsu; Ke Huy Quan
Genre: Comedy | Adventure
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Theatrical Distributor: A24
Official Site: https://a24films.com/films/everything-everywhere-all-at-once
Release Date: March 25, 2022
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
Synopsis: A hilarious and big-hearted sci-fi action adventure about an exhausted Chinese American woman (Michelle Yeoh) who can't seem to finish her taxes.