Everything Everywhere All at Once Parent Guide

Since moving to America and buying a laundromat, Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh) and her husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan) have struggled to get by. Evelyn’s relationships with her daughter, Joy (Stephanie Hsu) and her father, Gong Gong (the Cantonese word for grandfather, played by James Hong) have been strained, leaving her feeling trapped and isolated in a life full of missed opportunities. Now, as if that weren’t enough, they’re being audited by the IRS. While their inspector, Dierdre (Jamie Lee Curtis), is willing to let them refile their taxes to avoid some serious charges, they have to do it by 6 p.m. But that’s not going to happen, because on their way to the appointment, Evelyn meets a different version of her husband.

Alpha-Waymond, or the version of Waymond from a different part of the multiverse, has come to warn her that the entire multiverse is in danger, and Evelyn may be the only person who can save it. But to do that, she’s going to have to learn how to find and absorb the experiences of the other Evelyns throughout the multiverse. And she’s going to have to do it fast, because something called the Jobu Tupaki has created a devastating black hole which threatens all of existence.

As you can tell from the plot synopsis, this is something of a strange film. Now, I happen to like strange films, but if you’re not down for some very unconventional film and story choices, then you might want to give up now. But as with most strange films, the strangeness allows the movie to tell a different kind of story, to emphasize and exaggerate different aspects of its characters, and it does it remarkably well.

One of the things which I enjoyed (but which you may have some issues with) is the way the film embraced the infinite strangeness inherent in a multiverse story. This isn’t just some mustachioed-evil-twin kind of thing. At one point, Evelyn makes a mistake and finds a universe where everyone has grotesque elongated hot-dogs for fingers requiring them to use their feet for tasks normally done with hands. A guy gets beaten to death with a pair of giant rubber phalluses. It’s a wild ride, and one definitely unsuitable for…if I’m being honest, most audiences.

Beneath all the deep strangeness is a touching story about the importance of family, responsibility, and a sharp look at the kind of nihilism we all struggle with in the (comparatively mild) insanity of the modern world. It’s a fascinating movie, but it’s not going to make a splash at family movie night – even with some good messages and themes. You’re just never going to convince grandma to overlook the madness.