Everything Everywhere All At Once is a 2022 absurdist family action drama from the writing-directing pair the Daniels: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert.

This movie made me almost tear up at a rock rolling down a hill after another rock.

Everything Everywhere All at Once has been talked about to death. After its nomination for Best Picture, it caused another wave of recognition for what people are calling the best and most creative movie of 2022, regardless of whether or not it’s artsy or normal enough to win at the academy.

There’s so much that makes this movie special. I don’t know if there’s anything to add to this conversation that hasn’t already been said. However, I think I want to spend this post talking about a character that hit me particularly and deserves to be highlighted in the swirl of conversation around this movie. That’s the role of Ke Huy Quan as Waymond Wang.

A Summary

If you don’t know the plot of Everything Everywhere All at Once, you aren’t ready for this. But here goes;

Evelyn Wang (played by Michelle Yeoh) is a first-generation Chinese-American immigrant. She eloped with Waymong Wang to America to find their fortunes twenty years ago, and now have a daughter, Joy (Stephanie Tsu). A few years ago, Evelyn’s disappointed and critical father Gong Gong (James Hong; the name simply means “Grandfather” in Cantonese) also moved from China to America to stay with her. She runs a laundromat with her husband that’s being audited by the IRS. Her life is barely controlled chaos, bouncing between disappointment with her husband who seems too silly for her, criticism of her daughter and her girlfriend, and avoidance and placation of her overbearing, elderly father. She wants to feel special. She wants to feel like a hero. She doesn’t want her life as it is now.

The first ten minutes are simply this family drama that is enormously engaging and entertaining in its own right. But then, suddenly, it all blows open.

At the IRS building, Waymond’s body is taken over by a version of Waymond (Alpha-Waymond) from another universe. Turns out Evelyn might be the key to defeating Jobu Tupaki, a multiverse-traveling being that hops between dimensions searching for Evelyn’s alternate selves before seeking to destroy the multiverse with The Everything Bagel, a devise topped with everything that will suck in the multiverse into itself. This version of Evelyn is next, and Alpha-Waymond believes this Evelyn to be the key to defeating this vicious monster.

Using verse-jumping technology Alpha-Evelyn developed with Alpha-Waymond and Alpha-Gong Gong, Evelyn is now able to tap into whatever powers and abilities she’s gained from alternate, parallel universes, like kong fu, cooking, and more. She defeats one of Jobu’s minions but is beginning to splinter, experiencing reality in multiple dimensions at once–including one where Alpha-Waymond never came to the IRS and she goes about her life with Joy and Waymond.

Jobu attacks the IRS building, and it turns out that Jobu is actually Alpha-Joy. Crushed by the responsibility and pushed to the limit by her alpha-mother, Jobu/Joy now experiences every multiverse simultaneously. And she doesn’t want to kill Evelyn; she wants to find an Evelyn that will finally understand her. Who will also break under the pressure, and realize the truth; with so many decisions, so many differences, so many alternate pathways that all lead to one end, life is meaningless. Who cares who you kill if they’ll die anyway in every universe? Who cares what you do? It turns out Jobu/Joy doesn’t want to destroy the multiverse; she wants to destroy herself, and Evelyn with her, which she can only do with the Everything Bagel.

Evelyn is prepared to do it, too. Refusing to work with Alpha-Gong Gong and Alpha-Waymond, Evelyn doesn’t kill Alpha-Joy, believing she can save her. By tapping into the same verse-jumping abilities, her splintering experiences so many universes that she begins to understand what Joy means. She begins ruining her life in each multiverse, hurting whoever she can, however she can. Then, she prepares to enter the Everything Bagel.

However, in the universe where Waymond and Evelyn went about their day, Waymond repairs all the damage Evelyn caused by hurting everyone around her. Waymond tells her that it’s always been his policy to be kind to everyone, even when it makes no sense.

Evelyn steps back from the Bagel. She realizes she doesn’t want to die, and she doesn’t want Joy to die. She pulls her back from the Everything Bagel in the original universe, while finally talking to her daughter and comforting her in the unaltered universe. Evelyn says that wherever Joy is, that is worth it. Joy finds that where Evelyn is, and where her girlfriend is, it is worth it, too.

This doesn’t even begin to describe the movie. There are so many layers to each scene and character, Multiple people who I barely touched on in this description have arcs and mini-arcs. There are recurring jokes, amazing creativity, some of the best action scenes I’ve ever seen, and emotional, heartstring-pulling moments, some of which even involve rocks.

Central to this movie is Evelyn and Joy’s relationship, obviously. However, just as important, and perhaps even more impactful to me, is Evelyn’s relationship with her husband, Waymond.

Waymond

Waymond is my favorite character in the movie. Maybe because I see a lot of myself in him in some ways, or because Ke Huy Quan’s comeback as an actor is awesome (he was formerly in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies, and worked as a stunt coordinator in the 2000s, but hasn’t acted since the early 1990s due to lack of opportunities and racism he experienced).

However, his role is so fun and so exciting in the film itself. Some highlights:

His goofy self in the beginning is so cute. He puts googly eyes on bags containing clean clothes in the laundromat because it “makes them happy.” He is so kind to the IRS lady, baking her cookies. He hugs Becky right away. He cooks with Joy. It’s telling that none of Joy’s nihilistic angst is focused on Waymond.

The fanny pack fight is absolutely insane. To keep original universe Evelyn from being captured by IRS security guards, Alpha-Waymond fights in hilariously over-the-top fashion. The fight is all done by Ke Huy Quan, a former stunt coordinator. But it also fits in perfectly with Evelyn’s character arc. She wants a better and more purposeful life, and this Waymond is an action hero and manly adventurer.

Then, Evelyn sees an alternate reality in which she became a kong fu movie star rather than coming to America. What’s the point of this silly, goofy man who bakes cookies for IRS workers?

But then, Evelyn sees Waymond in that universe, and he’s handsome, successful, and everything Evelyn wants. Her Waymond sees even worse.

But then, when Evelyn is about to kill herself, she sees in her fractured universes Waymond resolving every single conflict. Though Evelyn has stabbed him, he keeps Alpha-Gong-Gong’s soldiers away in an impassioned speech. Though unaltered-Evelyn smashed the laundromat in a fit of anger, Waymond charmed away the police officers and the IRS agents with his innocence and fun. Though successful tried to kiss him, Waymond gently pushes her away and tells her that he succeeded in America because of his unending positivity and kindness for all people.

Waymond keeps Evelyn going.

Waymond is the one who leads Evelyn to see the meaning of life and to rescue Alpha-Joy from killing herself.

Though Waymond tried to hand Evelyn divorce papers in the beginning, it was only because he hoped this show of “meanness” might allow them to actually talk about their problems and resolve them. All he does is for other people.

Key Huy Quan performs Alpha-Waymond and Waymond and Successful Waymond brilliantly. He oscillates between these characters with charm, grace, and polish. He also performs amazing stunts and fights in the movie. His is performing multiple characters brilliantly. He is so kind, and encapsulates basically all that is good in the world to Evelyn and Joy. He never even has any conflicts with Joy throughout the whole movie (although admittedly, Alpha-Waymond does not seem to have a good relationship with Alpha-Joy).

But most of all, he’s a character I haven’t seen in a while. He’s a positive, encouraging father and husband. He might seem like a whimp, but his enduring positivity is really the strongest strength of all the characters. To be positive in the face of so much negativity is the true strength.

Waymond is the most important character to the movie. Though he doesn’t change and is a static character, unlike Evelyn who as the central character does change, Waymond is the key that unlocks the reason to live.

See it!

See this movie. While Ke Huy Quan performs amazingly and his character is written startlingly well, he is only a piece that brings this wonderfully absurd movie to life. I saw Top Gun: Maverick and The Batman, the only new releases I saw last year; and I believe this movie outdoes them both in its creativity, care, concern, message, and character.

Whether or not it wins best picture, it’s an amazing movie and a stellar performance by an actor who deserves his time in the sun.

Everything Everywhere All at Once was written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. It was produced by the Russo Brothers, Anthony and Joe Russo. Music is by Son Lu and cinematography is by Larkin Seiple. It stars Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, Jaimie Lee Curtis, and James Hong. 139 minutes.