In ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once,’ the Magnificent Michelle Yeoh Hilariously Traverses the Multiverse  

Sandra Miska

Nothing in life is certain except death and taxes, and Michelle Yeoh faces both in the trippy sci-fi action comedy “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” The glammed-down actress stars as Evelyn Wang, a Chinese immigrant and small business owner who is stressed by not only her issues with the IRS, but also her ailing father (James Hong) and her rocky relationships with both her husband, Waymond (Ke Huy Quan), and their daughter, Joy (Stephanie Hsu). Her seemingly monotonous life takes a turn when a visit to the dreaded tax lady (Jamie Lee Curtis) turns into a trip into the multiverse, exploring all the different directions her life could have gone. She also finds herself asked to battle evil forces to save humanity, a tall order for a woman who runs a failing laundromat.

Like so many people who have reached a certain age, Evelyn has come to the point where all the hopes and dreams she once had seem completely out of reach. Although she initially married Waymond for love, defying her father by leaving China for America with him to start a new life, their relationship has gotten so strained that he has filed for divorce behind her back. College student Joy, meanwhile, feels disconnected from her mother and avoids visiting, but has agreed to come for the Chinese New Year party Evelyn and Waymond are throwing at the laundromat. She brings with her Becky (Tallie Medel), her girlfriend who Evelyn outwardly tolerates, although she stops Joy from introducing her to her grandfather as her girlfriend.

Evelyn is on the elevator in the IRS building when Waymond suddenly turns into Alpla Waymond and informs her that she, the worst version of Evelyn from all the universes, is the only one who can save the multiverse from total annihilation. Alpha Waymond comes from the Alphaverse, the universe dedicated to restoring things to how they are supposed to be. Understandably, Evelyn initially believes him to have lost his mind, but soon finds herself forced to tap into all the alternate Evelyns, including one who is a kung fu master, to defeat agents of evil.

Evelyn gets to look at all the possible paths her life could have taken if she had not married Waymond and followed him to America. In a meta twist, the kung fu Evelyn is basically the real Yeoh, an actress who became a star doing martial arts films. Other Evelyns include one who works as a chef at a high-end restaurant alongside Chad (Harry Shum Jr.), a handsome upstart whom she discovers has a secret raccoon under his chef’s hat à la “Ratatouille.” She’s even a rock in one universe, and a lady with hot dog fingers in another.

As crazy as all this sounds, it gets even more complicated when Evelyn learns she must kill Jobu Tupaki, an evil version of Joy, to complete her mission. Sure, mother and daughter have had their problems, but she doesn’t have it in her to destroy the girl. In the middle of all this absurdity, filmmaking duo Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, known as the Daniels, manage to deliver some heartfelt moments. In order to defeat Jobu, Evelyn must learn to understand her, something she didn’t make the time to do in her real life.

The Daniels also get an A+ for creativity, as Evelyn and the others have to do weird things that have to be seen in order to be believed in order to gain the energy they need to keep fighting. But it is Yeoh who makes the movie, not only with her impressive martial art skills, but also with her vulnerability and comic timing. The Daniels may have originally written the lead role for Jackie Chan with the intention of having Yeoh play his wife, but putting Yeoh in the lead not only gives the actress a great showcase, but also makes the film feel fresh for the way it plays around with traditional gender roles in cinema. Quan, a former child and young adult actor who quit acting for years due to a lack of quality roles for Asians in Hollywood, gives a warm performance as the more positive and nurturing husband and father. Hsu, who has previously won over audience with her roles on “Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” further proves that she is an actress who deserves our full attention. 

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” releases March 25 in select theaters, and April 8 in theaters nationwide.