Wow! Everything Everywhere All at Once

Everything Everywhere All at Once did something no film has done in almost 3 years. It got me into an actual theater. One of those big rooms with too loud speakers and cushy chairs – you remember those? Going out to the movies has always been one of my favorite things. I’m happy I chose Everything Everywhere All at Once to be my return to in-public movie watching.

The logical part of the story is a simple one. Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) and her husband Waymond Wong (Ke Huy Quan) run a laundromat. Their grown daughter, Joy Wang (Stephanie Hsu), is a lesbian. Evelyn’s father, Gong Gong (James Hong), is about to have a birthday and Evelyn is planning a party. Joy’s girlfriend Becky (Tallie Medel) will be at the party.

Evelyn is overworked and disorganized. Her husband wants to talk about a divorce.

Their pressing problem in addition to the divorce, the unwelcome birthday party, and the lesbian it’s hard to explain to grandad, is the IRS agent Deirdre (Jamie Lee Curtis). Deirdre wants all their tax records and is threatening to seize the laundromat if taxes aren’t paid.

Sounds like a simple, straight-forward story, right? Nope. It’s a wild, runaway train crashing through the multiverse at lightning speed. It seems the universe wants to teach Evelyn how to be kinder and love her family better. The way that lesson is brought home is inventive, electrifying, hilarious, and visually exciting. It gives every actor a chance to be multiple people from multiple universes.

Michelle Yeoh does the most universe hopping and she is fantastic at it. She might be an opera singer, a kung fu expert, a chef, or 28 other things – all in one scene. The number of costume changes and the amazing editing that went into this film boggle the mind. It’s funny, it’s action packed, it’s fireworks made into a story.

The film lasts 2 hour and 20 minutes, but it felt like mere seconds passed from start to finish. There was never a moment that dragged. Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert wrote and directed this explosion of imagination.

Go see it for yourself, that’s my advice.