Movie: Everything Everywhere All at Once

Release Date: March 25, 2022

Director: Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinhert)

Starring: Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, Jenny Slate, Harry Shum Jr., James Hong, Jamie Lee Curtis

Personal History: Watched Before

Rating: 8 Oscars out of 10

Weird. Odd. Quirky. Frenetic. Bizarre. Genius. These are just a few words that I (and critics and audiences) use to describe the 95th Academy Award winning Best Picture ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once.’ Nominated for eleven and winning seven, the film has become a pop culture hot topic. Hard to say whether the hype about this movie will last throughout the years and become a classic, but for now it is the must-see movie, even if you have seen it before.

I watched the movie for the first time two months ago when it became available to purchase on Amazon Prime. I was not one of the lucky people that got to see the film in theaters. March of 2022 was filled with unpacking and acclimating to a new house my husband and I purchased a month before. So when ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ was originally released in theaters, I was preoccupied.

After watching it in January of 2023, I instantly liked it (I am a very big fan of odd and quirky), even though I didn’t fully understand what I was watching. But that is part of its charm. It’s almost as though the Daniels (the film’s directors) wanted their audience to say that only so they will watch it again. So that is what I did. Watch it again.

The film is beautifully crafted and filled with weird images yet highlighted with gorgeous performances by Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu and Jamie Lee Curtis. The story is both complex and simple. Complex in the way the story is told yet simple in the fact that it is just about family, particularly the love and respect between a mother and daughter.

Now after watching it three times I am not sure that I will fully understand everything about the film, but again, that’s just the beauty of the picture. Despite its confusing metaverse storytelling, it is most entertaining, emotional, thought-provoking and most importantly relatable to everyone.

Don’t we all wish we had multiple versions of ourselves living out different timelines of who and what we are? Don’t we all want to know what our existence on this planet really means? And don’t you think we should all just be kind since we really don’t know what is going on?

Regardless of those answers, ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ is definitely a must-see film and one that comes highly recommended.

And now, for some reason, I am craving an Everything bagel. Gluten-free of course.