Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) is a harried woman with no time to talk.  Her husband, Waymond (Ke Huy Quan), wants to talk but she constantly says 'later.'  Not only is she busy running the laundromat, she also has to prepare a party for her visiting father (James Hong), deal with her difficult daughter (Stephanie Hsu), and prepare for an IRS audit with Deirdre Beaubeirdre (Jamie Lee Curtis).  No sooner has she arrived at the IRS office with her husband and father than Waymond warns her that she is in great danger and must go to the custodian closet.  He hands her some scribbled notes on a sheaf of papers for later reference.  He further says that he will not remember this conversation when they reach their floor.  Huh?  Utterly baffled, Evelyn does not divert to the custodian closet.  During the meeting with Deirdre, Evelyn is constantly distracted and soon shifts to reading Waymond's notes.  Suddenly, she links with an alternate universe where her life took a completely different course!  Moreover, she discovers that there is a pan-dimensional war in progress and she is a key player!

The movie is a high-octane action fest that see Michelle Yeoh demonstrate her martial arts prowess in a variety of settings with all sorts of 'weapons.'  Her adversaries in one reality might be her allies in another.  Ke Huy Quan is great fun.  I had no idea that this was Short Round from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.  James Hong, who is in his 90s, was terrific as always.  I have been a fan of his since Big Trouble in Little China (1986).  Jamie Lee Curtis is excellent as the IRS auditor who is sometimes a badass enemy and at others a sympathetic ally.  Thanks to the multiverse setting, everyone has the opportunity to play their character in a variety of ways, which was generally fun.

The movie boils down to a dysfunctional family trying to reconcile their differences.  There is a lot of action, but it is really a family drama.  This is the story of how Evelyn reconnects with the father who disowned her, reconciles with the husband that has become distant, and accepts the daughter who has come out as lesbian.  Oh, and also resolves her tax problems.

This is all about the telling, not so much about the story itself.  I don't know that I would rate this the best movie of the year, but it is certainly good popcorn fun!