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This review will include spoilers.
I highly urge the reader if they are on the fence on watching this movie to go out and see it. It is a really thoughtful, special effects laden thrill. If you are into science fiction, time travel, multiverse, this should be for you. The plot is well done, the actors and actresses are great. Plus, how often are you going to see a movie come out where the protagonist is a 59 year old asian actress who has not aged out of the industry? Please go out and support this kind of work so that the studios will be motivated to make more movies like this.
The plot is tight, it doesn't waste any moments on anything unnecessary, I was not bored at all during this movie, I didn't have to wonder why something was included. Good moving pace, I was actually afraid of going to the bathroom because I might miss something important.
The companion movie to this movie is Turning Red which came out at around the same time, although that movie is very kids oriented.
Plot synopsis:
Evelyn is a chinese immigrant who migrated from China to the US, and now runs a laundromat with her husband. Upon being audited by the IRS, Evelyn is dragged into a strange, mindblowing conflict that could decide the fate of the whole universe.
Cast:
Michelle Yeoh plays Evelyn convincingly as a weary, cynical, stressed mother/business owner who must confront her own perspectives and beliefs as they are challenged by the conflicts in this movie.
Ke Huy Quan has a multifaceted role playing different versions of the Waymond (Evelyn's husband) character. Also great job.
James Hong, what can you say about a man who is basically in so movies/television with such a storied career.
Stephanie Hsu brings the angst and the emo to a young person finding her way in the world and trying to remain connected to her mom.
Jamie Lee Curtis, awesome job as you might expect from an experienced actress.
And now, time for:
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
The multiverse aspect is very well done. I would like to see all the storyboards for each universe that the writers thought out. Especially the racoon-touille universe, which seems like a throwaway at first.
Just wanted to add this link: https://mashable.com/article/daniels-story-of-a-girl-everything-everywhere-all-at-once Which is the song that is running though the whole movie.
So many great details. This movie provides satisfying conclusions to each chekov's gun that you will notice. Award shaped like dildos? The importance of a universe where people have hot dog fingers? Everything everywhere in this movie is important.
My thoughts about Evelyn herself and the worst timeline:
The worst timeline is where Evelyn is basically running a laudromat which her husband bought, dealing with a daughter who has grown up with western values as opposed to her own, taking care of an estranged father and trying to earn his approval back from when she left for the US with a man he didn't approve of, and dealing with a tax audit at the same time. Her husband is not shown to be in charge or very on top of things so Evelyn is left facing her problems by herself. Waymond serves her with divorce papers as a way to open up a discussion which is a really shitty way of trying to get her attention and have a conversation.
The best timeline is where she is a beautiful family actress with no husband and daughter. Second best is where she is a lesbian. The common element? Not choosing Waymond.
I think it says a lot about choosing love over stability or whether or not they are competent partner who can provide for you.
It reminds me a lot about Bojack Horseman and Bojack's mother, Beatrice. Beatrice chooses love leading to a miserable life which to which she takes out her frustrations out on her son.
I think the ending message of the movie is poignant, even if it's the worst timeline, human connection is important and letting go of the futures you wish you could have. Being present in the moment, as represented by the two moments(one at the begining of the movie and one at the end) in the IRS office where Curtis's IRS agent asks Evelyn if she is paying attention and in the first scene she lies and says yes and at the end she comes back to the present moment and says no.
Sis thank you for starting this thread I need to talk this movie out, it's a lot lol. I found Waymond so incidental to the plot and overall themes that I was willing to let the struggle love go. To me, the movie wasn't necessarily about choosing struggle love, it was about choosing kindness and human connection in its varied forms. Waymond's (struggle) love was one of those forms, but the truly central relationship in the movie was between Evelyn and her daughter Joy. Also was I the only one who read the everything bagel as an allegory for mental illness/depression? Definitely appreciated that all the butt (heh) of all the sex jokes/gags were men and that none of the women were hypersexualized. Dunno if it's FDS-approved necessarily but it was completely, utterly original. One of the most creative films I've seen in a while!
I'd be interested to see the fds interpretation of this movie too (which is a new favourite for me). On one hand, it shows how much further Evelyn went by not choosing a man. On the other hand, the movie indicated Evelyn as an unreliable narrator and understated Waymond's competence (handling negotiations and customers when she was overwhelmed, his patience and kindness) because she is so overworked in this life. The message, as you said, I also think is about letting go of the "what-ifs" and appreciating the good relationships and moments you have even when life is hard. That with the right people, you can overcome anything together and it's important to make peace with your choices. Now this all is touching and great in a movie world, but I have trouble reconciling this with my dislike for struggle love on principle 😂. Is this the same kind of thing or is it different because both of them were flawed but good people working together? Can it be overlooked because the movie itself is well-done and poignant?
I saw this film 4 times and balled my eyes every single time. Joy's narrative really struck a cord. You move on from feeling worthless to learning that nothing really matters at the end of the day. Do you draw nihilism or bliss from that realization? Theres just so much going on that its one of those movies you discover more as you rewatch. Im so happy its being discussed here! As far as the marriage of Evelyn and Waymond, I agree that who ever you chose to marry WILL determine your future. Im surprised I didnt see a timeline where Evelyn was married to a different man. A timeline where Evelyn is a single mom to Joy would be cool too. Evelyn in the laundromat owner universe being the biggest failure says so much imo. As far as being a HVW, it still doesn't matter if you can take care of yourself w/o the aide of your partner when its the wrong partner anyway. Why? Because it leads to hyper-independence. It leads to a life where youre the one carrying the weight of the world while your partner plays the feminine role. You end up overwhelmed, angry, and resentful. And youre the bad person for feeling those things. If youre a HVW, being alone is better than being with the wrong guy. As far as dating, thats the story I drew from this movie. That regardless what happens you'll never regret working on you. Bcs yes Waymond was "competent" and had patience and kindness. But any person with a "wife" will have the capacity because so much of the load is lifted off of them. You are giving and generous because you have reserves. You have something to give. A person like Evelyn who practically drowns in stress and paperwork and dealing with incompetence wont have the time to develop a relationship with the customers. She wont have the bandwith to be able to sit and listen to the IRS lady w/o thinking of 10 other problems in the time span of the conversation. Thats why struggle love is a net negative situation for anyone regardless of how twisting and turning you do to look for the silver linings.
This was definitely one of the better “main stream” movies. Enough of all the avengers stuff all the time. Although I can enjoy them from time to time, the things that are not normally out there I find are better.