SilentDawn’s review published on Letterboxd:
65
I feel like Larry David when I say that Everything Everywhere All at Once is pretty, pretty, pretty good. Certainly not surprised to find out that the latest Daniels picture has a similar vibe to SNL digital shorts and late-2000s era YouTube. The quirky humor is incessant, and often overbearing, but luckily it's more of a means to an end, with many of the comedic ideas eventually woven into the emotional canvas. Swiss Army Man had the advantage of a whimsical simplicity, like an obscene fairy-tale in the forest, whereas EEAAO is determined to expand until it bursts across the cosmos. It's grand and messy and eager to please, with a dash of freshman year existentialism for good measure. With such a happy-go-lucky approach to its vision, and gags and references pushing to the extreme with reckless abandon and ingenuity, it's thrilling to uncover the complexity of these characters. That is what made the movie stick for me. Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, James Hong, Jamie Lee Curtis, and fucking Ke Huy Quan (especially great to see him in such a romantic role). It's an ensemble that rises to the task and then some. Their enthusiasm and fervor for the material smooths over a ton of annoying shit.