Cert: 15 | ★★★★✩
Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Crazy Rich Asians) delivers a glorious performance in this Multiverse adventure from Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. Easily one of the most hyped and eagerly awaited films of the year, Everything Everywhere All At Once stars legendary Vietnamese actor Ke Huy Quan – known as a child actor for his unforgettable turn as Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Jamie Lee Curtis and Chinese American actor Stephanie Hsu (The Marvellous Mrs Maisel) also star.
Lowly Laundromat owner Evelyn Wang (Yeoh) is drowning in unpaid bills while fending off letters from the IRS over her outstanding taxes. To make matters worse, Waymond (Ke Huy Quan), Evelyn’s husband of 25 years has decided that he wants a divorce. Meanwhile, the couple’s lesbian daughter Joy is at the end of her tether over her parents’ unwillingness to accept her for who she is.
After being summoned by overbearing IRS agent Deirdre (Curtis) to her office over her still-unpaid taxes, Evelyn finds herself in the middle of an inter-universe adventure putting her at the centre of the multiverse itself. Evelyn must find the strength to fight her way through several parallel universes where each version of her has somehow achieved greater success than she has.
While not entirely without fault, you would be pressed to find a film as brilliantly chaotic or as original as Kwan and Scheinert’s film. Elevated by some genuinely thrilling performances from Yeoh, Curtis and Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere remains the duo’s funniest and most exciting project so far.
Quite aside from offering up a hilariously out-there premise, Kwan and Scheinert delve into some pretty hefty philosophical ideas. While the story doesn’t always make much sense, there is a commendably uplifting strand about missed opportunities and newfound hope running throughout the movie.
Overall this is a lovely, silly and utterly bonkers offering from two people who don’t seem to know the meaning of impossible. And to have a woman over 50 as the heroine of this truly unique adventure is just the cherry on top. Wonderful from start to finish.