Andy Kamis | Staff Writer
March 9, 2023
The movie full of googly eyes, hotdog fingers and zany costumes is up for eleven Oscar nominations at the Academy Awards this Sunday.
Since its release nearly a year ago, “Everything Everywhere All At Once” has become a global phenomenon, grossing over $107 million dollars worldwide and far surpassing its budget of only $25 million dollars.
The box office hit has also become the highest grossing film for the independent American entertainment company, A24, passing their 2018 box office record for ‘Hereditary’ by over $24 million dollars.
“Everything Everywhere All At Once,” directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, has raked in dozens of awards already, including two Golden Globes and the Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Picture.
The film just recently took home four major wins at the Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG) ceremony on February 26, breaking the SAG Awards record for most wins for a single film. The movie has received countless other awards and nominations from other festivals and ceremonies as well since its release. It has become clear that Kwan and Scheinert’s feature film is a serious force to be reckoned with, and it’s going to be a serious candidate at this year’s Academy Awards.
If you have not seen the movie that’s been turning heads, you might not know what all the buzz is about. Not only does the film consist of a great screenplay, visual effects and an insane multidimensional wardrobe, but it also goes beyond its theatrical elements to display great representation for the Asian community.
“Everything Everywhere All At Once” stars Michelle Yeoh, who depicts a Chinese immigrant named Evelyn living in America. Evelyn contemplates her choice to move to America and start a family throughout the course of the movie. She longs to be recognized by the world for her talents and hopes to escape the repetitiveness of her life that has left her feeling insignificant in society.
I personally saw Evelyn’s longing for recognition as a message about the misrepresentation of the Asian community, especially when it comes to the entertainment industry.
In her acceptance speech for Best Actress at this year’s SAG Awards, Yeoh said that “This is not just for me, this is for every girl who looks like me…Thank you for giving me a seat at the table because so many of us need this. We want to be seen. We want to be heard. And tonight, you have shown us that it is possible.”
Supporting actors, Ke Huy Quan and James Hong, also spoke about representation for the Asian community when accepting awards for the film.
In an interview with Nerdist entertainment company, Quan said, “Not only just Asians, but all groups of people need to, and should be, represented in the entertainment [industry]. Because until you see it, you’re not going to believe that it can also be you up there on the screen.”
Both Yeoh and Quan gave stellar performances, with their emotional response and talent quite literally traveling across the many universes depicted in the film.
Yeoh will likely win the Oscar for ‘Best Actress in a Leading Role,’ and Quan will join her as the ‘Best Actor in a Supporting Role.’ It will be disappointing if both Yeoh and Quan are unable to receive the recognition that they deserve at this year’s Academy Awards ceremony.
Additionally, Stephanie Hsu gives a remarkable portrayal of Evelyn’s daughter and the picture’s primary villain, Jobu Tupaki, showcasing an astonishing amount of range in her acting abilities. Expect her to walk the Academy Award stage as the ‘Best Supporting Actress.’
Lastly, Shirley Kurata will likely receive the Oscar for ‘Best Costume Design,’ as the movie showcases a myriad of intricate clothing designs. The amount of wardrobe changes throughout the film is extraordinary with most of these changes happening all within a few frames of the movie as Evelyn cycles through dozens of sophisticated costumes while she travels across realities.
I believe that “Everything Everywhere All At Once” has a great chance of winning in all of the categories that it has been nominated in, including ‘Best Director,’ ‘Best Original Score’ and ‘Best Film Editing.’ Although, I will be left completely speechless if it does not win ‘Best Original Screenplay’ and ‘Best Picture’ overall.
“Everything Everywhere All At Once” is one of the better movies I’ve ever seen. I would be very happy to see this film get the acknowledgement it deserves this Sunday.
The 95th Academy Awards Show will air on ABC at 8 p.m. on Sunday. Tune in to see if my predictions are right.