‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ Review: A Film I Can’t Stop Thinking About
This isn’t going to similar to my previous articles. And for that I’m not sure if I should apologize or say “you’re welcome,” but alas here we go.
It only took a year but I’ve finally been able to watch ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ in theaters. I never watched the full trailer. I purposely avoided every synopsis about the film I came across. Just based on the flood of positive reviews I decided this was a movie I had to go in blind on.
This could very well just be a personal preference, but if I find a film extremely intriguing I don’t want to watch the trailer. I actually enjoy the small peak of anxiety I get as I watch the story grow on screen with no idea what will happen next. It makes me feel closer to the characters and somehow more invested in the storyline.
With that being said if you can’t fight the curiosity here’s the trailer below.
I saw this film last night and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. There are certain films that you only want to watch once. This is not one of those films.
I want to watch every review. I want to read each synopsis I can find. I am excited to hear from the creators what this story represents. I want to know everything about this film and how it was born.
This movie was so unlike anything I’ve seen — maybe ever. It somehow fit science fiction, family drama, epic fight scenes, over the top costumes, romance and so much more in less than 150 minutes.
There were so many different stories within this story to focus on that my head was spinning. Somehow it never felt overwhelming, only exciting. Every scene only leaves you wanting more.
Michelle Yeoh captivates every moment she is on the screen. You’d think I was auditioning for Smile the way I didn’t blink throughout this movie. I did not want to miss a millisecond of this story.
The complex relationship between Evelyn and her father made my chest tight the entire film. I can’t personally relate, but I know so many people who can.
Let’s have a moment for Gong Gong and his stress level about not eating breakfast. I don’t condone his behavior but I can understand.
Nothing anywhere at any time could have prepared for me for the different universes. One of my favorites was the universe where everyone had hot dogs for fingers. That was not a typo. This is not a cryptic message you need to uncover.
A portion of the film, that actually ends up being heartwarming, involves everyone using their feet because they have hot dogs for fingers. I clearly do not have the maturity level that I should because when this scene happened I laughed so hard. But no one else was.
“Everything Everywhere All At Once” in my opinion deserves an Academy Award if for nothing else the inclusion of the racoon chef universe. I laughed from deep in my core at the fact this storyline even made it to this film.
It’s so ridiculous that it’s almost good? The quality of the racoon puppet really is what makes the scenes. I surprised myself when I found my laughter being traded for empathy towards a talking racoon and a young chef. The writing in this film is not discussed nearly enough (not that I would know.)
A trope as old as time: Rooting for the underdog. How can anyone not love Waymond Wang? The amount of memorable quotes that came from Waymond are plentiful. I’d have to do another article just of quotes.
I couldn’t finish this article without at least passing on one Waymond quote. At some point during the chaos of the film he says “You think because I’m kind that it means I’m naive, and maybe I am. It’s strategic and necessary. This is how I fight.”
Even I can’t find the right words to explain why exactly that line spoke to me but it did. He said it and I could physically feel my heart drop to my stomach.
I wish more people realized how powerful it can be to be kind.
As previously stated, this was not like my normal reviews. I hope you enjoyed it but if not that’s okay too. Let me know what stood out to you when you watch this film.
Fun Fact: Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) is A24’s highest grossing film.
Read it! I love it, too! It has so much, I feel like it can be a completely new experience every time you watch it. I must admit in my watch through, I was quite hard on Waymond until that kindness line. But Evelyn’s & Waymond’s relationship honestly reminds me of my own healing journey (which is probs why I initially reacted that way🙃💀); yay, healing awareness!
Your comment makes me want to watch it again. I agree that every time you watch it, you’ll probably notice something new. There were SO many layers to this story.
My expectations were fairly low in the beginning, and Michelle Yeoh was the only real incentive to watch at the time. But this really did blow me away, and I loved how it encompassed so many different genres of storytelling into one film and general narrative.
There were so many great moments, but I really appreciated Waymond’s speech regarding being kind as a tool of strategy and survival, rather than kindness. I related to that SO much. Especially because it feels like something that’s so discounted in society nowadays.
I have to also say that my jaw LITERALLY dropped when I realized what was about to happen with the you-know-what plug-toy turned trophy moment. Had no idea the filmmakers were willing to be that bold.