Hi! You’re reading an entry in the Jscars 2022, a series on my favorite movies of the year 2022. Go to my profile to view the previous entries!
“In another life, I would have really liked just doing taxes and laundry with you.”
I’ll be honest, it’s kind of hard to think of things to say about Everything, Everywhere All at Once. What started as just a small quirky feel-good indie movie distributed by A24 quickly snowballed, with good word of mouth turning to crazy box office numbers, multiple re-releases and finally the Academy Award for Best Picture. In an earlier entry I claimed I started doing the Jscars to help people check out movies they wouldn't have heard of otherwise, but I don’t think there’s anyone at this point who hasn’t heard of this movie. But even after all the discussion and accolades, I still do think this movie is special. So I’m going to try my best.
A lot of times, it feels like we live in a world that encourages us to feel hopeless and that everything in our life is pointless. I’ll admit to having had that same feeling several times. Most people have had the same feeling, at least one I’d imagine. What Everything Everywhere All At Once suggests isn’t that there is in fact some purpose or meaning to life that’s going to make it all worthwhile, but the exact opposite. Life truly does have no set meaning or purpose. So if that’s the case, why not live a life as full of joy and kindness as possible? We as humans get to make the choice of what we get out of life, so why choose to be cruel? Why choose to be miserable? Instead if we embrace those around us as well as embracing ourselves, we can ensure that this life, regardless of any pre-ordained purpose, will be as joyous and enjoyable as possible.
As for the more “quirky” parts of the movie such as the multiple different universes and some of the humor (such as a fight scene involving a dildo), I honestly think all of it is a lot more meaningful than some of the movie’s critics have given it credit for. And it's right in line with the rest of the movie’s message about finding meaning in life. While some of it might come across as “cringe”, that’s kind of the point. Being unashamed to be who you are and showcase what it is you love, without care for how it will be viewed by others. Is some of the humor in this movie a little millennial for me? Sure. But that’s who the Daniels are and what they value, and if this is a world where we all find our own meaning and embrace who we are, it’s beautiful they are able to showcase that humor and value system in the form of a movie and have it be so embraced. The movie is unafraid of how exactly you feel about it's goofier moments, because it believes in itself.
Listen, if this seems shorter and more scatter-brained than the other entries, that’s because it is. At this point, it’s hard to find things to say about this movie and feel like I’m actually contributing something to the conversation. But maybe, as I just described, that’s the exact problem. There’s a version of me out there who’s unafraid of whether what I’m saying has been said before. And by embracing myself, my words, and my thoughts on this movie I can become that version whenever I want to. Everything Everywhere is a movie about loving and accepting ourselves as the best version of ourselves, and accepting our world as the best version of our world. And regardless of how I word it, that’s something beautiful.