Stevie Stigall | Staff Writer
July 25, 2023
Warning: spoilers ahead
Faculty Hall was the hot spot for lovers of the Classic Film Series as they enjoyed the highly rated A24 film, Everything Everywhere All At Once. The movie was a double feature alongside the black and white horror movie, Psycho. I decided to watch Everything Everywhere All At Once and enjoy multiversal madness.
The fate of not one, but thousands of universes are spontaneously put in the hands of Evelyn Wang while she is being audited in an IRS building. Along with the stress from taxes, a Chinese New Years Party and her father, Evelyn must quickly figure out how to defeat the omnipresent being, Jobu Tupaki. She is visited by Alpha Waymond, her husband from another universe, and introduced to the method of verse jumping. Verse jumping allows a person to jump between and hone the skills from their lives in different universes. Evelyn struggles with learning how to enhance her verse jumping skills while Jobu Tupaki wreaks havoc everywhere–literally.
The film touches on topics such as generational trauma, mental health and identity. It uses bagels and googly eyes to symbolize yin yang–harmony in two principles that are the opposite. Jobu Tupaki embodies nihilism as she works on putting “everything on a bagel.” The evil pun seems like the motivation for the main antagonist however the real goal is something that can be relatable to every child with an emotionally tone deaf parent. In the movie, the googly eyes is the opposite of the everything bagel and represents a more positive force. It proves to be powerful enough to make Evelyn change and understand Jobu Tupaki.
The Horseshoe Award for Everything Everywhere All At Once goes to Waymond Wang. He is the husband of Evelyn and an important character in the movie. Although there are many version of him in many universes, he is always a kind and humble man. He lives his life full of love and kindness because he chooses to have an optimistic lens for life and that’s inspiring. I love the perspective he gives Evelyn when it comes to the final battles. He basically saves the destiny of the multiverse.
The scene that takes the cake is the Rock Scene. It has an abrupt change of pace from the intense, colorful and loud scenes that are before it. It shows how Jobu Tupaki doesn’t really want to destroy everything and every universe but she feels that’s the only way she’ll be happy. It shows how the antagonist is just a young adult that wants to be at peace, which seems unattainable.
The quote that resonated with me the most is “You underestimate how the smallest decisions can compound into significant differences over a lifetime,” which was said by the wise Waymond Wang. It essentially sums up what the multiverse is. It’s made up of splits and forks from choices that people make throughout their life. Something as simple as saying no makes a difference. It also reminds me of the thought that everything we do has a lasting effect. Whether it’s on ourselves or anyone else, our choices matter.
Multiverse movies have been around forever and Everything Everywhere All At Once solidified its place in the future for the scientific fiction genre. Everything Everywhere All At Once is an emotional, comedic and captivating film that touches on subjects that many viewers can sympathize with.
5/5 Shoes Up!
