As an Asian American, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” wasn’t just a movie for me—it was an experience. The Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) have made a film that defies genre, blending sci-fi, absurdist comedy, action, and heartfelt drama into something that feels completely unique. It’s a movie that’s chaotic and ridiculous one moment, deeply moving the next, and yet somehow, it all works.
At its core, the film follows Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh), a middle-aged Chinese American woman running a struggling laundromat with her sweet but unassuming husband, Waymond (Ke Huy Quan). Their life is a mess. The IRS is breathing down their necks, their daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu) is feeling alienated, and Evelyn’s relationship with her demanding father (James Hong) is as complicated as ever. Just when it seems like her world is collapsing, it literally does—Evelyn is thrust into a mind-bending multiverse adventure where she must connect with alternate versions of herself to stop a mysterious, all-powerful force known as Jobu Tupaki.
Michelle Yeoh is phenomenal, which isn’t a surprise—she’s been delivering masterful performances for decades. But what caught me off guard was Ke Huy Quan. If you grew up watching “The Goonies” or “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” you remember him as the lovable kid sidekick. But he’s been off the Hollywood radar for decades, and his comeback here is nothing short of stunning. His performance is filled with warmth, humor, and heartbreak, and he delivers some of the film’s most powerful moments. The fanny pack fight scene? Instantly iconic. And that quiet, devastating scene where he and Yeoh talk post-premiere in an alternate timeline? That one is going to stick with me for years.
What really sets “Everything Everywhere All at Once” apart is how it grounds its wild sci-fi premise in something deeply relatable. The immigrant story at its heart—the sense of struggling to make a life in a country that never quite feels like home, the disappointment of dreams that don’t pan out, the generational gap between parents and children—is something rarely explored with this much depth and honesty. The Daniels manage to take something deeply personal and make it feel universal.
The supporting cast deserves just as much credit. Stephanie Hsu is fantastic as Joy, who transforms into the chaotic and tragic Jobu Tupaki, and Jamie Lee Curtis is hilarious and oddly compelling as Deirdre, the relentless IRS agent who becomes much more than just a bureaucratic obstacle. Both actresses bring an emotional weight to the story that elevates it beyond the spectacle.
That said, the film won’t be for everyone. It’s relentlessly fast-paced, visually overwhelming, and at times, just plain weird. Some moments—like the hot dog finger universe—are funny, but they feel like they exist purely for the joke, and I’m not sure they’ll age as well as the performances. But even if some of the humor doesn’t land for everyone, the emotional core is so strong that it hardly matters.
At a time when multiverse stories are everywhere (“Doctor Strange,” “Spider-Man: No Way Home”), the Daniels somehow make theirs feel fresh, largely because they use the concept to explore identity, regret, and family rather than just as a vehicle for spectacle. Whether the film’s impact comes more from the Daniels’ direction or the cast’s unbelievable performances is something time will tell.
For me, though, this is the kind of film that lingers. It’s a movie that makes you laugh, makes you cry, and makes you think about your own life and the choices that led you to where you are. And that’s rare.
Final verdict: 4.5 out of 5 stars. An absolutely unforgettable film that takes the multiverse concept and turns it into something deeply human. Sure, it’s bizarre, but at its heart, it’s a story about family, love, and the paths we take—and that’s something that transcends even the wildest sci-fi premise.