EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE

 

This is a film that has gotten a lot of buzz online, and, since it also stars the legendary Michelle Yeoh, I decided to go out to the theater and see it. It's a production that almost defies description, a wild and oftentimes wacky action/fantasy combination of Hong Kong kung fu cinema, "The Matrix", and a Marvel-like multiverse. 

Yeoh plays Evelyn Wang, a Chinese immigrant living in America and running a struggling laundromat. Evelyn has a number of issues with her husband (Ke Huy Quan), her daughter (Stephanie Hsu), and her father (James Hong), and she also has major problems with the IRS. But Evelyn's life really goes off the rails when she discovers she's just one of several Evelyns who exist in several different universes--and the beings that live in one particular universe believe she is the key to stopping an all-consuming evil that could destroy everything. 

A simple way to describe this movie would be to call it a superhero tale without superheroes (one of the major plot points is that Evelyn is an ordinary person who lives an ordinary life). There's definitely a Marvel vibe here (the Russo brothers are two of the producers), but this is like a comic book movie on drugs. Directors and writers Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert provide all sorts of visual and editing tricks, along with a number of idiosyncratic "rules" that Evelyn must adapt to in order to save the multiverses. The various complications, and the various Evelyns, can be hard to keep up with for those who don't pay close attention while watching a film. 

For all the multiverse madness, the story is really about Evelyn and her family trying to come to terms with one another. The movie does have heart--although at times that aspect of it comes perilously close to being overwhelmed by all the crazy goings-on, and the ribald attempts at humor that just seem silly. 

As expected, Michelle Yoeh is great, but Ke Huy Quan deserves special praise as Evelyn's kindly and decent husband. Jamie Lee Curtis plays an IRS office drudge, but, like Colin Farrell in THE BATMAN, she's so heavily made up she's almost unrecognizable (which makes me wonder what she would have been like in the role without all the FX). 

If you're looking for a new movie that is different and non-mainstream, but still entertaining, EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE fits the bill. It does have to be pointed out that there's a lot to take in here, and the movie's amphetamine-fueled pace and story structure will not be for everyone. It runs nearly two and a half hours, and some trimming (and toning down of the wackier elements) might have helped. But it does deserve credit for being an original non-franchise entry, and for having unique leading characters.