Friday, May 20, 2022

My Weekend Crush

Have you ever finished a movie and then wanted to watch that exact same movie all over again immediately, if not sooner. The indescribably bananas, irrefutably amazing film “Everything Everywhere All At Once” is that movie. I knew it would be a wild ride going in, yet still wasn’t prepared for how wild, how inventive, how exhilarating and how shockingly moving it would be.

Like, I was not expecting a movie that prominently featured dildos and butt plugs in key action sequences to also bring me to tears in a quiet scene without any spoken dialogue? But, this is that movie.

A showcase for unparalleled Asian talent, EEAAO is about the immigrant experience, intergenerational trauma, everyday life’s mundanity, everyday life’s extraordinariness and, ultimately, true familial love. Also, did I mention it’s gay? Like really, really queer? And hot dog fingers are used in lesbian seducation. No explanations, the less you know truly the better.

What EEAAO also does is give Michelle Yeoh a chance to reaffirm her place as a legend of modern cinema. We all knew, for decades, that Michelle could kick ass. And we knew, for decades, that she could plum emotional depth. But EEAAO is perhaps the first film to bring them together in such spectacular and invigorating fashion. She’s very, very, very, veryveryveryveryvery good.

Indeed the whole cast is veryveryveryveryvery good. Like, how can Michelle and Ke Huy Quan (of 80s child actor fame as Short Round/Data in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”/”The Goonies” who went on to be a top-light stunt coordinator) and James Hong (pioneering Asian-American actor who at age 93 has been in too many iconic movie roles to count) and Stephanie Hsu (who you probably recognize from “Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”) and Harry Shum Jr. (you know, from “Glee”) and Jenny Slate (you know, the Marcel the Shell with Shoes on comic) and Jamie Lee Curtis (no introduction needed) all be in the same movie? Some kind of multi-verse miracle, no doubt.

Honestly, as I said, the less you know the better. But I promise that the multiverse adventures of an exhausted laundromat owner facing an IRS audit while trying to plan a birthday party for her estranged father visiting from China while dealing with her estranged lesbian daughter (and her alternative lifestyle haircuted girlfriend) at the same time is so worth your time. So, so, sososososo worth it.

Right, so who wants to join me for another (or your first or your infinite, it’s a multiverse afterall) watch of “Everything Everywhere All At Once”? Happy weekend, all.

p.s. SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS: You have to love a movie whose central theme essentially boils down to this — love your lesbian daughter. Yeah, definitely watching this movie again. And again, and again, and againagainagainagainagain.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Movie was awesome, and I will watch it again in cinema.

Carmen San Diego said...

I’m still not feeling ready to be back in the movie theater but I will watch it as soon as it’s streaming

Anonymous said...

I stopped watching half way through. Maybe i will have to try it again.