When considering the biggest and best films of the decade so far, a few immediately come to mind: Barbie, Oppenheimer, The Batman, The Banshees of Inisherin, Top Gun: Maverick, and Everything Everywhere All at Once. Do you see anything in common with those movies, specifically the leading actors in all of them? This is just one of the many things that separates EEAAO apart from the rest of the pack of the 2020s so far. Not only was it immensely successful at the box office1, but it also ran the table at the Oscars (more on that later), infiltrated the zeitgeist of pop culture, and most importantly, it made history. Michelle Yeoh was the first Asian Best Actress and the first Malaysian to win any Academy Award. Stephanie Hsu being nominated for Best Supporting Actress, alongside Hong Chau for The Whale, was the first time that two Asian actresses were nominated in that category in the same year. Ke Huy Quan was the first Vietnam-born actor to win an Academy Award. We will get more into the film’s performance during awards season a little later, but those achievements were aboslutely worth mentioning at the top, on top of the fact that it is an independent film.
One of the first things that always gets mentioned with this film was the performance of its actors. Three of the four main characters won Academy Awards for their performances, with the fourth still having been nominated. Michelle Yeoh arguably gave the performance of a lifetime and the best of her career; I will have to take everyone’s word for that, since I haven’t really since much else of her work – but I can still talk about her performance in this one! Yeoh is able to embody all of the chaos that would occur if you were to take on the skills and emotions of every other universal version of yourself, while still being the anchor of the film and the heart that sucks you in. Her displays of regret, frustration, confusion, love, curiosity, joy, melancholy, and tencaity is nothing short of remarkable; she was absolutely deserving of winning Best Actress. Somehow more impressive though was Ke Huy Quan’s triumphant return to the silver screen, after having retired from acting altogether back in 2002. Quan has a few other behind-the-scenes credits to his name from the early 2000s, but he spent most of his time studying film at USC and helping out on various productions in Asia and the United States. We all remember him as the little kid from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom or The Goonies, but his part in EEAAO may have surpassed both of those with ease. The raw emotion he is able to portray as a loving husband and father who is unsure about his success at both of those things, while simultaneously portraying a confident, highly skilled fighter from a different universe leaves you wanting to see more and more of him as the film progresses.
Before moving on, we need to discuss Stephanie Hsu’s dual performance as Joy and Jobu Tupaki. Hsu had a few recurring roles on stage as well as television, but EEAAO was largely her breakthrough role that brought her into the mainstream view. Like her co-stars, Hsu was able to play multiple roles so well, one of which was the nihilistic antagonist of the film. What that character represents on a larger scale is a stage of life that most, if not all, people go through at some point: nothing matters, we’re all stupid small human beings, so who cares. I’ve certainly had my ebbs and flows through that state of mind, and I think Hsu did a really commendable job of representing how those emotions and thoughts make you feel. The characters in the film describe it as the most evil force in all the world, but Hsu really communicates that it isn’t evil, it just…is. It comes for all of us, and as her mother in the film states towards the end, “It’s okay that she’s a mess because just like me, the universe gave her someone kind, patient, and forgiving to make up for all that she lacks.” Sometimes we go through dark periods, but the universe will always give us someone to help us get through those times and make up for our shortcomings. It’s not evil, it’s life, and it is beautiful!
I guess we should talk a little about the movie itself here outside of the performances within it. To be honest, I was worried after the first thirty minutes or so that I was too dumb for this movie. The frenetic pace, mixed with the chaos of verse-jumping, resulted in me having a tough time following what was actually happening and what the baseline plot of the movie even was. On a more meta scale, it even confused me on what this movie really was; in my research of this film, I’ve seen it described as a multitude of genres, all by different outlets. An absurdist comedy-drama, a surreal comedy, a science-fiction, a sci-fi action, an action, a family drama, and many more. It wasn’t until after I finished the film that I realized – it was all of them, and it was all intentional. The title does more than just explain what is happening within the constructs of the film, it also describes what the film actually is; it is everything and everywhere, and it is happening all at once. It is meant to be frenetic and chaotic, you’re not meant to be able to soundly and confidently follow all that is happening (at least not on the first watch); it is an all out assault on your senses and is meant to overwhelm. This is exactly what is happening to Evelyn within the confines of the movie, and the filmmakers are doing their best to take us along for that ride. Evelyn starts off confused, frustrated, and wanting to just go back home and have it all be over; let someone else figure this out, I’m not the one you were looking for. Isn’t this exactly how we all felt right at about the thirty-minute mark? I’m confused, beginning to get frustrated, and maybe this movie isn’t for me. But if we stick around long enough, like Evelyn, we will begin to put the pieces together to make enough sense of it all in our own way. I really appreciate when a filmmaker is able to do more than just tell us how we’re supposed to feel, they show us and force us to feel those very things! I am not part of an immigrant family, I am not a mother, daughter, or wife, and I am not a small business owner; but for a little over two hours, I was shown just a fraction of what that can look like for a lot of people, along with the emotions and trauma that can come with it. Since I do not have any experience with any of those situations I won’t speak on them, but I highly recommend you listen to any interview that Daniel Kwan (co-director) gave during the press tour for this film, because he based certain aspects of Evelyn’s character on his own upbringing along with his fears of raising his own child.2
All that being said, let’s dive into some categories!
By the Numbers
- Release date: March 25, 2022
- Budget: $14.3 – 25 million
- Box office: $143.4 million3
- Run time: 139 minutes (2 hours, 19 minutes)
- Letterboxd rating: 4.3 ★
- My Letterboxd rating: 4.5 ★
- Rotten Tomatoes: 93% (Certified Fresh ?)
- Accolades: 684 total nominations, 343 total wins
- 11 Academy Award nominations, 7 wins (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing)
- 6 Golden Globe nominations, 2 wins (Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical [Michelle Yeoh], Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture [Ke Huy Quan])
- Two: This was the Daniels’4 second feature film that they have directed
Best Scene
It’s a little tough to define distinct “scenes” within this movie due to the frenzied pacing throughout, but there are some really cool sequences and enough full-fledged scenes to make this a tight race. (Spoiler alert: don’t click on any of the links to the scenes if you haven’t seen the movie yet and don’t want it spoiled)
- The IRS Fight Scene: This is our first taste of action in the film, and it does not disappoint. Ke Huy Quan gets to put his legitimate second-degree black belt to good use in this scene where he takes on four security guards with relative ease, with nothing but his hands and a fanny pack. The accompanying score perfectly parallels the whimsical-yet-badass character of Alpha Waymond and is a sensational introduction of many things to come for the rest of the film. This is also a rare occurence of a movie (especially an action one at that) using the perfect amount of slow-motion, which perfectly accents the martial arts featured in the scene.
- Every Version of Evelyn: This isn’t really a scene per se, but it is too cool of a sequence to not mention here. This is right at the climax of the film, where Evelyn is opening herself up to every version of herself from every other universe, and we get 40 seconds of absolute chaos in seeing each of those versions. This is visually stunning to watch, and is really cool to think about how fun this was for the costume and makeup departments, along with the editing and effects teams to put together.
- Jobu Tupaki’s Introduction: Now this is how you introduce the antagonist of a film. We get more incredible action here, this time with much more of the slapstick humor that rears its head every once in a while throughout the film. We get Jobu dancing a man to death, piledriving a man to death, and exploding a man into confetti all in about two minutes; all the while once again using the perfect amount of slo-mo.
- Evelyn Reconciles with Joy: This is one of the scenes where we shift into the real heart and drama of the movie. Evelyn has finally come to terms with some of her own trauma, which helps her see how she is part of Joy’s trauma. The actors get to show off their dramatic chops in this one and despite it being incredibly cheesy and formulaic, it still rips your heart out in the best way possible.
My heart wants to choose the last one, my mind wants to choose the first one, but I think I have to go with Jobu Tupaki’s Introduction. We get to see some high-level comedic timing from the actors, some really fun costumes and makeup, and really good directing and editing from behind the camera that tie it all together as the best scene.
What’s Aged the Best
This one is always a little tough when the movie has come out so recently, but there is still a lot that has already aged really well. The casting has aged pretty much perfectly: Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Stephanie Hsu were all nominated for Oscars, with three out of the four winning. The idea of the characters needing to do something unique and out of the ordinary in order to verse jump is really creative – it is unique from any other verse or time traveling movie I have seen. The directors pivoting away from Jackie Chan: the script was originally written for Jackie, but they decided to change the protagonist to be a woman, since they thought it would make the husband-wife dynamic more relatable. Finally, Jamie Lee Curtis’ character’s full name: I had no idea until right now that her name is Deirdre Beaubeirdre. Incredible stuff.
What’s Aged the Worst
One thing that immediately came to mind, which isn’t to any fault of the movie itself, is Jamie Lee Curtis’ Academy Award. I want to state at the top here that I don’t think it is anyone’s fault except for the Academy’s. Jamie Lee Curtis and Stephanie Hsu both being nominated was the right call; they both did amazing jobs with their parts, and did some incredible acting throughout. That being said, I personally came away from this movie feeling that Hsu far outperformed Curtis, especially given the demand and weight of her characters in the movie. It just smells a liiiitle bit of whitewashing by the Academy here, and doesn’t fully sit right with me. But either way, again, this is not the fault of Jamie Lee Curtis in any way, or a slight to her performance in the film. One other thing that hasn’t aged wonderfully was pointed out by a friend of mine on Letterboxd, and I think he tackled it perfectly: “There is a parallel universe where I’m using this space to write about how it’s a little weird that Jenny Slate’s character’s name is Big Nose and that the ultimate symbol of nihilism is a bagel…Luckily we are in a universe where this is just a stylish, life affirming film with a handful of aggressively bad jokes.” Well put, Spencer!
The Jason Clarke Award (What’s Their Name Again?)
Are we allowed to choose one of the leading actors for this award? Because when Ke Huy Quan showed up on my screen again for the first time in nearly twenty years, all I could think was, “Is that Data??” If we’re going to eliminate him since he disppeared from our screens for such a long time, then my answer is definitely Sunita Mani; she appears as the actor in the musical film that Evelyn watches in the laundromat while Waymond and Biff Wiff’s character re-enact the dance scene. I knew I recognized her but couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but finally remembered that I knew her as Trenton from Mr. Robot. Congrats, Sunita!
The Jack Nicholson Award (Big Impact, Small Role)
Okay so right off the bat, just to clarify, we are eliminating Michelle Yeoh (Evelyn), Stephanie Hsu (Joy), Ke Huy Quan (Waymond), James Hong (Gong Gong) and Jamie Lee Curtis (Deirdre) from contention. That leaves us with Jenny Slate (Debbie the Dog Mom/Big Nose), Harry Shum Jr. (Chad the teppanyaki Chef), Tallie Medel (Becky), and Biff Wiff (Rick). As much as I would love to give this to Biff Wiff because, well, he’s Biff Wiff, I have to give it to Harry Shum Jr. He has probably about three minutes total of screen time, but he makes the absolute most of it. He has a CGI raccoon on his head pulling the strings for him as a chef, he gets his raccoon taken away from him by animal control, and then sits on Evelyn’s shoulders to pull the strings in order to get his raccoon back. It’s incredibly dumb, it’s silly, and you know you love it.
The Roger Deakins Award (Best Cinematography)
This is an easy one, because I already mentioned it earlier in the running for Best Scene. It’s that 40-second sequence where we see every different multiversal version of Evelyn – it was incredibly fun and pretty to look at, and we even got some animation thrown in there as well to seal the deal. Honorable mention definitely goes to the first fight scene that takes place in the IRS building because, like I mentioned earlier, it uses the perfect amount of slow-motion to capture the fun and awe of Alpha Waymond’s skills with a fanny pack, and makes the scene that much more exciting.
Best Quote
- “You are not unlovable. There is always something to love. Even in a stupid, stupid universe where we have hot dogs for fingers, we get very good with our feet.”
- “When I choose to see the good side of things, I’m not being naive. It is strategic and necessary. It’s how I’ve learned to survive through everything. I don’t know. The only thing I do know… is that we have to be kind. Please, be kind – especially when we don’t know what’s going on. I know you see yourself as a fighter. Well, I see myself as one too. This is how I fight.”
- Evelyn: “Maybe it’s like you said. Maybe there is something out there, some new discovery that will make us feel like even smaller pieces of shit. Something that explains why you still went looking for me through all of this noise. And why, no matter what, I still want to be here with you. I will always, always, want to be here with you.” Joy: “So what? You’re just gonna ignore everything else? You could be anything, anywhere. Why not go somewhere where your daughter is more than just this? Here, all we get are a few specks of time where any of this actually makes any sense.” Evelyn: “Then I will cherish these few specks of time.”
- “So, even though you have broken my heart yet again, I wanted to say, in another life, I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you.”
Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon
- Michelle Yeoh: 2 (Yeoh appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 with Michael Rooker, who appeared in Super with Kevin Bacon)
- Ke Huy Quan: 2 (Quan appeared in Everything Everywhere All at Once with Jamie Lee Curtis, who appeared in 8 with Kevin Bacon)
- Jamie Lee Curtis: 1 (Curtis appeared in 8 with Kevin Bacon)
- I checked all the major acting credits for this movie, and the highest number was two. The theory lives!
Concession Stand
This is a popcorn flick for sure. I watched this movie at like 3 in the afternoon, so I wasn’t jonesing for any snacks, but I wished I was hungry enough to make some popcorn. Nothing complements a high-quality action fight scene like some buttered popcorn in a bowl. I wouldn’t recommend anything heavier than a snack though, you might end up too caught up in trying to follow the movie that your meal gets cold, or vice versa, and you end up focusing too heavily on your food that you miss something important. No matter what though, I would suggest staying away from hot dogs for this one.
Conclusion
This was a really, really good movie. At the end of the movie, my partner (who had seen it before) asked me if I loved the movie, to which I replied no. They were shocked, but let me explain; I still really really liked this movie, but I don’t love it. There was just enough confusion within the plot of the film alongside the frenetic pacing and chaos happening on the screen that left me a little frazzled by the end. It could turn on a dime at some points, which could leave you with a bit of whiplash as well. But then I sat with it, thought about it more, did some research, and realized that that was basically exactly what the filmmakers were going for, and the more it sat with me, the more I enjoyed it. The chaos and freneticism that the viewer feels is paralleled by the main character, along with the confusion of what in the world is actually happening. So to re-answer the question: yes, I loved this movie. And I think you would too.
- As of writing, EEAAO is A24’s best performing film of all time at the box office. ↩︎
- Side note: in an early draft of the script, the main character found out that they had undiagnosed ADHD; while researching this for the movie, co-director Daniel Kwan learned that he himself had undiagnosed ADHD. ↩︎
- This marks EEAAO as the 32nd-highest grossing independent film of all time. ↩︎
- Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert co-wrote and co-directed the film, and are coloquially known as the Daniels, which is adorable and I love it. ↩︎
