Hey everybody! Long time no see. I took a little time off from my blog to work on some personal things. To be honest with you, another big reason for my absence was a lack of motivation. I’m sure you know how that can be. Writing is largely based on mood for me and for the past almost two years, nothing has really made me want to write. That’s not to say that I haven’t watched tv shows and movies during my absence that are worthy of writing about. But something (probably my own insecurities about my work) kept me at bay. But now I’m back! And I have one film to thank for inspiring me: Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Everything Everywhere All At Once is the story of Evelyn Wang (played by Michelle Yeoh), a Chinese-American immigrant on the verge of losing the laundromat that she runs with her husband, Waymond (played by Ke Huy Quan). This could not be happening at a worse time because her father has come from China to stay with her, and she is preparing for a big Chinese New Year party. Eveyln is disillusioned with her life. She is unhappy in her marriage, and she struggles to accept the fact that her estranged daughter Joy (played by Stephanie Hsu) is gay. Of course, her situation becomes even more insane when she is informed that she is the only hope for the survival of the multiverse. 

It seems like everywhere you turn now, there’s the multiverse. We see it in Marvel, DC, and many other movie and tv franchises, but EEAAO takes the use of the multiverse and does something very fun with it. The concept that you have to do something bizarre, like eat a chapstick, chug a whole liter of orange soda, or staple a piece of paper to your forehead in order to tap into aspects of their multiversal selves, is unlike anything I’ve seen in a movie and it adds humor to balance out the more serious moments in the movie. 

The ability to find that balance of gravity and levity throughout the movie is showcased by its  characters. There are moments when Evelyn’s feeling of failure combined with Jobu’s nihilistic beliefs hit me hard as a viewer because it’s so relatable. The reality is that sometimes life lets you down so much that it becomes easier to believe that nothing matters, because if nothing matters then you don’t have to feel like you failed, or as Jobu says “If nothing matters, then all the pain and guilt you feel for making nothing of your life goes away.” And if the two of them had been alone together with these thoughts, they would have given in to them, but thankfully they weren’t. Thankfully they had Waymond. 

Waymond Wang is, in my humble opinion, the heart of EEAAO. He is the glue that desperately tries to hold his family together. When we first meet him, he is helping around the laundromat and being friendly towards their customers, and that is who he is for the rest of the film. He is kind, patient, and altruistic. When Eveyln finds out that he has filed for divorce, she is shocked and hurt because that is the opposite of who he is. Even in him doing that, he is trying to wake Evelyn up to the fact that she is not the only one who is unhappy. He is not the foolish, oblivious man she paints him to be, he is kind because he feels the same disappointment she does. He just handles it differently. He is kind to Deidre, the IRS agent (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) because he knows that being kind matters. It’s the reason Deidre gave them a second chance. Evelyn sees Alpha Waymond as better than her own Waymond because she doesn’t see until the end that her Waymond is perfect for her because he loves her and in his patience he brings out the best in her, the same way that Joy’s girlfriend brings out the best in her. 

Speaking of Joy, let’s talk about Jobu Tupaki, who is one of the most complex and fun villains I’ve seen in a long time. She is insane, and a genius, “evil” but misunderstood, and the leader of an multiversal army who is extremely lonely. So lonely that she searches the entire multiverse for a version of her mom who could understand and accept her. When she finally finds her, she does everything she can to get her to understand that life is pointless. Thankfully Evelyn doesn’t give in, and not only saves herself, but she is able to save her daughter as well. It’s like Eveyln said “Of all the places I could be, I just want to be here with you.” Sometimes the only thing that matters is the ones that you love, and if you focus on that, life seems a little easier. 

EEAAO swept this year’s award season, taking home the coveted Academy Award for Best Picture last Sunday, and it was so earned. This is the type of movie that reminds you why you fell in love with movies in the first place. Daniels created a film that is funny and smart, heartfelt and so relatable. EEAAO’s cast is full of stellar actors, who bring so much life to their characters. It’s a story that, while pretty out there, feels real. I don’t know one person who can’t relate to Evelyn’s struggle to accept the life that she has chosen, Waymond’s unhappiness and fear of hurting the people he loves or Joy/Jobu’s search for acceptance. It takes a story of a simple immigrant family and sets it in the backdrop of a multiversal war, and through the epic fight scenes and bizarre absurdist humor, there is a film with an incredible amount of heart. I think this is a film that will continue to resonate with people for years to come.