Everything Everywhere All At Once

Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) is having a very bad day in a very unhappy life. She is frustrated in her work running her laundrette, and longs for something else. Her wimpy husband refuses to take things seriously, putting googly eyes on everything. Her grouchy and disapproving father is having a birthday party, to which her sulky daughter wants to bring her girlfriend. To top it off, she is being tax audited, and might just lose her livelihood. The only way things could possibly be worse was if a parallel-universe action hero version of her husband popped up to tell her that she is their only hope to save the multiverse.

A parallel-universe action hero version of her husband pops up to tell her that she is their only chance to save the multiverse. The reason turns out to be that she is the worst achiever of all her parallel selves – others are successful martial artists, chefs, actors, whatever – and she can tap in to all their skills in the upcoming fight. After some initial hesitance, Evelyn takes on the role.

This is a totally bonkers, madcap, brilliant mess. Yeoh is fantastic as all her different parallel selves, martial artist (of course), chef with a raccoon-controlled competitor, glamorous successful actor (don't stop watching when the end credits first roll!), far alternate self with hot dog fingers, even farther alternate self who is a boulder, and much more. The beginning is a little slow, and the ending is a little saccharine, but in between is a roller-coaster ride of complete mayhem and genius. About the only thing that wasn't a surprise was the identity of the Big Bad. Don't try to understand the details: how is the prison-version a better version of her? why does the hot dog fingered version even exist if the divergence point was several million years ago? why are there actually so few other timelines if every decision causes a spilt? Instead, sit back and enjoy the sheer imagination on display, and the glorious lunacy of the experience.

Rating: 2.5

[ unmissable | great stuff | worth watching | mind candy | waste of time | unfinishable ]

reviewed 25 December 2022