Everything Everywhere All At Once is an action/adventure comedy movie released in 2023 and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. It starred Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn, Stephanie Hsu as Joy, and Ke Huy Quan as Waymond.
Evelyn is a Chinese American immigrant running a laundromat with her husband, Waymond. She struggles as the laundromat is being audited by the IRS, Waymond is trying to divorce her though she does not notice, her father is visiting for Chinese New Year, and Joy, her daughter, is dealing with depression, no thanks to her mother’s lack of acceptance of her sexuality and partner.
At a meeting with the IRS, Waymond begins to act strange as his body is taken over by Alpha-Waymond, who is a version of himself from the “Alphaverse.” He warns Evelyn that she is in danger, reveals the existence of parallel universes, and explains that in his universe, Evelyn created “verse-jumping,” which allows people to access skills, memories, and bodies of their parallel selves by performing statistically unlikely actions.
The multiverse is being threatened by Jobu Tupaki, who experiences all universes at once, and has created a black hole that could destroy everything. Alpha-Waymond believes that Evelyn is the key to stopping Jobu Tupaki.
One of the biggest themes of this film is generational trauma. Evelyn’s father treated her poorly, and so she treats her own child and husband poorly. She wants to connect with her father and make her proud of him, so she acts like him, pushing people away and not accepting even her own child. Her father looks down on Waymond, so Evelyn starts to as well. When Evelyn was younger, she had fled China to prove something to her father, and Joy is in a similar place during this film. Acceptance and understanding are necessary to recognizing your own faults, where they came from, and how to move forward with the ones you love.
Nihilism and depression is a dark topic of Everything Everywhere All At Once, as Joy struggles throughout. Both she and Eveyln are struggling with the concept of “what is the point.” They wonder if it is easier to just let everything go. But there is also the theme of positivity shown through Waymond. While Evelyn keeps everything at a distance, Waymond embraces laughter to deal with his fear.
Another key theme is the immigrant experience, from the language and cultural gaps to feeling the need to sacrifice and the struggle to belong.
I adore this movie thoroughly. It boils down to a family/generational drama. You watch this broken family realize how broken they are and choose whether to move forward or to give it all up. It is whimsical and absurdist, but it is beautiful and touching.
The film has heavy themes surrounding queer people and the queer experience, which I connect with as a queer person. It can create a rift with family who refuse to acknowledge or accept you as you are. It is great to have these experiences represented in film, and to see some kind of resolution and acceptance. While they still might not be a perfect family by the end of the film, they are working on it and trying to be present in life.
I struggle with my mental health and things feeling useless, that there is no point in interacting with people, going to school, taking care of myself, etc. The entire threat of the film is because of mental health struggles.