Everything, Everywhere, All At Once

Having said in my review of First Kill the elevator pitch must have been easy, I find myself really struggling to imagine exactly what the elevator pitch for Everything, Everywhere, All At Once was.

This movie is part of the current multiverse craze, it’s a musing about maternal love and a daughter’s duty (in two generations), it’s a wuxia action movie, it’s several romance movies and it’s a comedy. And somehow, although the film feels busy, it also works well.

Some of that is the stars. Western audiences will be most familiar with Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis, but there are a lot of people that we might not be as familiar with who have quite long careers and are more than capable of carrying their parts. This being a film that spans the multiverse those parts are quite varied as we see the same people from different universes.

This isn’t a comedy in the classic style. You don’t have the jokes and laughs coming along predictably, but there are enough that I think you have to call it a comedy. They’re mostly little observational things, mixed with some heavy slapstick.

The action is, of course, led by Michelle Yeoh and is, of course, excellent. There’s a surprising amount of it, with a surprising amount of improvised weapons including a wooden spoon, a gag and a pair of soft dildos.

Discussing the other parts requires major spoilers really. The set up of how the multiverse works is interesting and works through the story nicely. The maternal love and how the role/duty of the daughter is important is also central but probably the biggest spoilers. Having said I couldn’t think what the elevator pitch would be, I think maybe “maternal love throughout the multiverse and finding yourself” is the pitch.

I feel this is a film I not only could but I should rewatch. There’s so much going on that I know I’ve blinked and missed things. It probably helps that, to coin a phrase, this is a film where the journey is more important than the destination. Just because I know the ending doesn’t mean it’s going to be any less fun to watch.

I’ve seen less films this year than normal but this could easily be the best of them. Well worth your time.

Bechdel Test: Pass. There are a number of named female characters. Evelyn and Deirdre may be the big names, but Joy and Becky are rather important too. There are a of conversations that involve men, notably Evelyn's father and husband for various reasons. But there are a lot that just don’t.

Ko Test: Pass. Although parts of the film are in Chinese with subtitles, most of it is in English, so we have several WOC who speak English in more than five scenes.

Russo Test: Pass. In this universe Joy and Becky are a couple. In another universe, Evelyn and Deirdre are. That alternate Evelyn and Deirdre are developed enough that they pass all three parts despite being relatively minor characters. Joy is a major character and easily passes. Becky is more borderline, she’s not really developed more than “Joy's girlfriend” but you couldn’t really get rid of her so she just passes too.