Everything Everywhere All at Once Review

This was a fun watch. Even if you don’t care about the themes or messages it conveys, you’ll still enjoy the eye candy this film portrays.

The Bad

The one thing I didn’t really enjoy about this film was the sex stuff. It wasn’t too bad but just felt kind of weird and out of place. When the mother first meets Jobu Tupaki it was kind of strange that Jobu pulls out dildos to fight. It may symbolize the mother’s aversion to her daughter’s sexuality but it just felt weird and overdramatic.

There’s another scene where the Mother fights two other universe jumpers and they have to jump onto this butt plug to gain the skill from another universe. That was also pretty odd. The setups for jumping to another universe are interesting and allow for some comedic relief in this emotionally intense narrative but this one felt out of place.

I must say that the award for the best tax auditor being the shape of a butt plug is pretty funny.

The greats

This film brings a lot to the table. There’s a lot to unpack and digest. I feel like it’s a film that deserves a second watch.

The Mother

From one angle it’s a tale of a mother who struggles with the responsibility of being a parent to her daughter. She still has regrets and connections with her father on how she was raised. She is living out her worst life and wouldn’t want to see her daughter walk the same path. In the end, she realizes this and begins to embrace the differences she sees in her daughter and wants her to be able to stand on her own.

Universe and Sci-fi

The universe skill jumps are really cool. We all like to imagine the paths we could’ve taken and how different our lives could be had we made a different decision or jumped on an opportunity. The sci-fi element brings this idea to life and conveys Evelyn’s aspirations and dreams in a short, concise format.

The message to me was to live in the moment. Evelyn almost got stuck in these dreams of her being a famous singer. Alpha Waymond had to pull her out. Not living in the moment is what can lead to this disconnected self where Evelyn never seems like she is truly there unless there is something extremely important happening.

Her worst life has been created by not being where her feet are. Her daughter wants to run away, she has no demonstratable skills, her career is doing taxes and running a laundromat, and her husband wants to divorce her. Evelyn’s life is lacking true meaning.

Everything Bagel

The everything bagel was hilarious. The daughter took everything and put it onto a bagel. This trap is easy to fall upon. You can imagine every possible version of life for yourself and may not see one where you are content. There may be no future where you feel fulfilled.

I believe that this dangerous mindset is personified through Jobu Tupaki. Nothing matters. You have to create meaning in your life. If you lack this meaning then you will lead a life of destruction and chaos. It’s like the story of Alice in Wonderland. Not deciding to do anything is still a decision.

By dipping your toes in and not jumping into the pool you will never reach the levels necessary to create meaning. Most successful people aren’t slightly average at a lot of things. They focus on one discipline and master it. By doing this people seek them out for their skills in that area. Nobody wants a jack of all trades. Not to say that being ok at a lot of things is bad it just isn’t ideal for most situations.