Everything Everywhere All At Once Review: An

Emotional Journey with Parallel Universes and

Colorful Costumes
By Julia Nguyen
December 1, 2022

Michelle Yeoh plays the starring role of an exhausted laundromat owner who becomes an agent on a mission to save mankind.

Rate: 5/5
There is glorious chaos in Daniels’ (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) masterpiece,
Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)?

From universe jumping to butt plugs, what can be said about Everything Everywhere All
At Once (2022)? At first glance, the plot is a silly, confusing take on parallel universes,
and action and consequences. As the plot thickens and the characters grow, the audience
discovers the emotional warfare common in immigrant households and what it means to
be a child of immigrants.

The creative storytelling, relatability, and connection to their audience make this piece
worthy of several rewatches. With several household names in Asian Hollywood
(Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and Stephanie Hsu) showcasing their talent, the emotions
easily pour through the screen into our hearts. A24, the entertainment company behind
Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022), has several masterpieces under its belt, like
Midsommar (2019) and Lady Bird (2017). With these examples, it is clear that A24
masters the art of storytelling and aesthetics.
How do you tell such a complex story filled with several conflicts of all levels and topics
in two hours? There’s divorce, fantasy, Asian American struggles, and family drama all
bunched into one movie. Yet, somehow, the Daniels blended them all into one
collectively tear-jerking story. The film was an attempt to capture the peak of an
existential life crisis in just about two hours and, in my humble opinion, it worked.

“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.”

A CEO variant of Waymond Wang talking to Evelyn Wang in a parallel universe.

Despite the divorce in the original timeline, Waymond Wang’s love carried through
infinite universes to contrast with Evelyn’s cold love. This one quote is one of many that
are worth a thousand stories. The film beautifully paints the story using poetic dialogue
that seems to effortlessly pull on your heartstrings. When it could have come off as cliché
writing, it instead is simply honest and feels close to home every time.

In an interview with NYTimes, Daniel Kwan states, “It’s not a perfect movie. It’s very
strange and messy. But I have no regrets.” They know it has its goofs and corny jokes but
that's the glory of it. Like most people’s lives, the film is scattered and basically just a
compilation of word-vomit style ideas. Honestly, sometimes my life is just a compilation
of bad ideas and decent jokes. This movie is real and embraces the quirks.
Michelle Yeoh’s character, Evelyn Wang, does her taxes as a laundromat owner.

Daniels chooses characters with more depth and personality. We not only see that Evelyn
Wang struggles with regret, but also see the generational trauma and reality of the
American dream that fuels her lifestyle. Most importantly, the characters reflect us and
our parents. After watching the movie with my other Asian friends, we reflected on how
our own immigrant parents could benefit from seeing their story on the big screen.

The way Evelyn fluidly switches from Cantonese and English depending on who she is
talking to is so real to lots of children of immigrants. Joy not being able to speak her
parent’s language reflects the generational disconnect between immigrant parents and
their American-born children.

As a child of Asian immigrant parents, Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) holds
a special place in my heart. This is the pinnacle of Asian representation as it not only
includes our favorite Asian stars but also highlights the hidden struggles of immigrant
households. Without this context, people can get lost in the hot dog fingers and ask why
people are crying at rocks with googly eyes rolling down a cliff. Through all these quirks,
we learn about what love means to Asian families.
 Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Evelyn and Joy’s dynamic relationship healed my inner child. We see the
miscommunication that fuels the plot, which is the same miscommunication that ignites
many of our arguments and resentment towards immigrant parents.

In the start, Evelyn tries to stop her Joy from leaving in anger but only pushes her away
further through harsh criticisms of her body. This is a common experience for many
Asian children unfortunately; the fear of showing love and affection is normalized. Even
though it broke my heart to see it on the screen, it helped understanding Evelyn’s motive.
It gives me a look into what my mom could be thinking every time she nudges at my
change in appearance.

If you need a movie to cry to because of the touching romance and family love or need a
good laugh, this movie is right for you. Don’t live with regret like Evelyn did and go
watch it! You can find it still playing in theaters, Hulu (premium subscription),
Paramount+ (subscription), Amazon Prime Video (subscription), or buy it on Apple TV.
 Works Cited

Everything Everywhere All At Once. Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert,

performances by Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, and Ke Huy Quan, A24, 2022.

“Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022).” IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6710474/.

Accessed 8 December 2022.

Ito, Robert. “Where Did Those Hot Dog Fingers Come From? Daniels Explain.” The New York

Times, 31 August 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/31/movies/daniels-

everything-everywhere-all-at-once.html