Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) Review

“Everything Everywhere All At Once” Poster

Director: Dan Kwan
Co-director: Daniel Scheinert
Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, Jenny Slate, Harry Shum Jr., James Hong, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sunita Mani, Aaron Lazar, Audrey Wasilewski
Running Time: 139 min.

By Paul Bramhall

As an actress Michelle Yeoh has made an impact in every decade she’s been active. In the 80’s she kick-started the Girls with Guns genre in her first starring role with Yes, Madam!. In the 90’s she came out of retirement and proceeded to give both Jackie Chan and James Bond a run for their money, co-starring along side Chan in Police Story 3: Supercop, and being the first Asian Bond girl in 1997’s Tomorrow Never Dies. In the 2000’s she’d star in Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and in doing so introduced the wuxia genre to the world in a way which no other film has before or since, and in the 2010’s she featured in the first Hollywood movie to have a leading cast consisting entirely of Asians with the (appropriately titled) Crazy Rich Asians. Now in 2022 Yeoh once again leaves her mark on the 2020’s by headlining Everything Everywhere All at Once.

The sophomore feature length production from the duo known as Daniels – consisting of Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert – Everything Everywhere All at Once follows 2016’s Swiss Army Man, and if anything shows their knack for the off-kilter and quirky certainly wasn’t a one off. The plot focuses on Yeoh’s laundromat owner who’s having a particularly stressful day. On top of needing to prepare for a tax audit by the IRS, her demanding father is flying in for a Chinese New Year party taking place later on the same day, her stubborn daughter wants to bring her girlfriend, and she’s found out that her husband wants a divorce.

On the cusp of imploding, while in the elevator of the tax office her husband is taken over by another version of himself from the Alpha verse. He hurriedly explains how there are thousands of universes out there, each one created every time a decision is made, however a powerful entity names Jobu Tupaki is tearing through them and threatening the very existence of life itself. He’s convinced that at least one version of Yeoh is capable of putting a stop to this entities reign of terror, and has been ‘verse jumping’ (a skill acquired so far only by those living in the Alpha verse) in an attempt to try and find the right one. Can he convince this worlds Yeoh to prioritise saving the universe over explaining the hundreds of paper receipts she’s brought along with her to the tax auditor? 

Above all else, Everything Everywhere All at Once feels like a love letter to cinema. Much like the title itself, there’s a lot going on, and the almost 140-minute runtime barrels along at a relentless pace with little room to catch your breath. The Daniels have assembled an impressive cast to surround Yeoh, with her husband played by Ke Huy Quan, best known for his child roles in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies (and perhaps less so for wiping the floor with Bolo in 1991’s Breathing Fire). As the father James Hong has a filmography spanning almost 70 years onscreen, however for many he’ll always be Lo Pan from 1986’s Big Trouble in Little China. The real breakthrough role belongs to Stephanie Hsu as the daughter and (non-spoiler) Jobu Tupaki, who after mostly working in TV and a small role in the previous years Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, here really leaves a lasting impression.

As a genre bending head trip that encapsulates plenty of comedy, action, and philosophical musing, Everything Everywhere All at Once is a stunning piece of cinema. On the surface references to the multi-verse, and the fact characters can ‘jump’ into others to acquire their skills, may sound like a heady mix of Matrix-esque ideas served up with Marvel’s flavour of the month shenanigans via Doctor Strange, and while it’s arguably both, it’s also much more. Yeoh’s character is a relatedly flawed one, beaten down by the humdrum and monotony of everyday life. Her father never did approve of the marriage to her husband, and in turn, as much as she tries to deny it, she doesn’t approve of the fact her daughters a lesbian, with the trauma coming from a lack of acceptance repeating from one generation to the next. The question of how to overcome it is one that looms increasingly large as the narrative progresses.

While this may sound like heavy material, onscreen it’s handled with a lightness of touch and a kinetic energy that rarely slows down. The ability to ‘verse jump’ requires a specific action to be completed that enables the mind to transfer, and these activities are frequently hysterical, ranging from needing to give yourself 4 papercuts between each finger, staple yourself in the head, or even sit on butt plug shaped trophy. Homage is paid to Yeoh’s action background with the introduction of the Kung Fu Universe, and the Daniels have made the wise decision to bring in the brotherly pairing of The Martial Club’s Andy Le and Brian Le to choreograph the action. Fresh from their work on Shang-Chi and Paper Tigers, here they also get to show their stuff both in-front and behind the camera, taking centre stage when they team up to take on Yeoh in a fight which I’ll simply say proves their weak point isn’t the same as Fong Sai Yuk’s. 

Like in Swiss Army Man the Daniels prove they’re not afraid to explore their more bizarre creative side, such as when Yeoh botches a verse-jump, and ends up off the map in a universe where evolution developed everyone to have hot dog sausages for fingers. It may sound entirely ridiculous, and it is, which is probably the reason why it works so well in delivering the intended laughs. Their influences from other genres are also clear, with nods of the head to such diverse titles like Ratatouille, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and In the Mood for Love (as a trivial sidenote, Huy Quan was the assistant director on Wong Kar-Wai’s 2046, and in one universe gets to channel his inner Tony Leung Chiu-Wai).

Throughout the chaos that unfolds, Yeoh anchors everything, easily clocking in a career best performance. Interestingly the role was originally intended for Jackie Chan, however his schedule meant he couldn’t commit. Much like Dirty Harry was intended to be played by Frank Sinatra before it went to Clint Eastwood, and Neo was planned to be played by Will Smith before it went to Keanu Reeves, the fact that Chan’s schedule didn’t align is perhaps one of Everything Everywhere All at Once’s biggest blessings. Yeoh brings a down to earth humanity to the role, conveying emotions with just a glance, and displaying the foleys and triumphs of her character in a way that never feels anything less than real. Last time we saw her headlining a production it was opposite Donnie Yen in 2016’s embarrassing Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny, so it’s a joy to see her center stage here in a true showcase of her talents.

If there’s any criticism to be had then it comes with the finale. The quirkiness that’s kept the narrative barrelling along so far is put aside for the scenes between Yeoh and Huy Quan, and there’s a genuinely heartfelt touch to them that could well leave a lump in the throat. After building up such an effective emotional investment, the fact that during the final confrontation some of the goofier elements are sprinkled back in doesn’t quite work, meaning that while the laughs before were genuine, suddenly it feels like we’re laughing because we’re supposed to. In the grand scheme of things though, this is a minor gripe, and in no way comes close to derailing a truly unique cinematic vision that’s a joy to watch from start to finish.

In a movie which encompasses genius racoons, musing on a world with no cows, dildos used as deadly weapons, and yes, hotdog fingers, it’s a testament to the talent and creative vision at work that at no point does it feel like style over substance. Ultimately delivering a life affirming message that reminds us to take joy in the small moments, and battle through the rest, I don’t think Everything Everywhere All at Once is a movie many of us thought we wanted, but perhaps it’s the movie we need. 

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 8.5/10