Everything Everywhere All at Once is getting a lot of praise right now. The scores are through the roof, and it currently has a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and is in the 80s on Metacritic. Is it going to be the best film of the year? Is it even going to be the best multiverse movie of the year?
Everything Everywhere All at Once beat Dr. Strange to the box office. That doesn’t mean his movie won’t do better critically or financially. It’s a real toss-up. For now, let’s focus on this movie with some of its best quotes. Spoiler Alert
8 “The Clothes Are Happier Upstairs”
When Evelyn is looking for Big Nose’s clothes, that is actually what Jenny Slate’s character is referred to in the credits, Waymond says he moved them upstairs. He thought the clothes would be happier upstairs which is an odd thing to say. It’s not completely out of left field though.
Upstairs is where the Wangs live. That means the clothes were safer upstairs as no one could have stolen them from the haphazard laundromat rack downstairs. Waymond unintentionally did a smart thing even if what he says is silly.
7 “How Is Your Airplane?”
Even though Joy comes from an Asian-speaking family, she has forgotten the old ways. She doesn’t even remember how to greet her grandfather, Gong Gong, and says this line instead. It could have been a lot worse.
Asking if someone’s airplane is doing okay is innocent enough. Having this moment in Everything Everywhere All At Once was a good way to show how distant Joy was becoming from her family. As they preach in the movie, it’s the little things that add up and branch into wildly different universes.
6 “I Want To Lie Here”
One of the first fights in the movie is also one of the most badass. After eating a full tube of chapstick, Waymond starts fighting off guards to protect Evelyn. It’s hard to imagine a Fanny Pack packing that much of a punch in a Kung Fu fight, but it does.
After he finishes them all off, Waymond goes over to help Evelyn. He tells her that she can either lie still or come with him. Exhausted from what had just transpired, Evelyn smartly wishes to lie still instead of carrying on with this wild rouse.
5 “The Less Sense It Makes, The Better”
Why did Waymond eat the chapstick? It doesn’t make a lot of sense, but that is the point. That’s how he explains things to Evelyn anyway. To become another person from an alternate universe, one must do something zany.
The things people do to become stronger in Everything Everywhere All At Once get more and more grotesque as the movie goes on. This also translates to a lot of good comedy. One of the most unexpected ones has a thug launching himself onto a trophy that looks fit for pleasure. It might be the most outlandish joke in the film.
4 “Joy, Why Do You Look So Stupid?”
Evelyn says this to Jobu Tupaki who she thinks is Joy. At this moment, Joni Tupaki is wearing an Elvis-like white suit, has giant pink hair, and is strolling down a hallway with a pig. This is the first time her face is revealed in Everything Everywhere All At Once.
Evelyn calling her stupid is hilarious because of the way Michelle Yeoh delivers the line. If this was really Joy, the scene would have felt different. It’s not nice to call one’s own daughter stupid. Since this is the main villain of the movie, Evelyn gets a pass.
3 “I Got Bored One Day And Put Everything On A Bagel”
What exactly is Jobu Tupaki’s plan? By the end, it’s still a little hard to grasp. Her basic outline has her wising everyone would just succumb to a giant black hole. This black hole is actually a demonic bagel with everything, literally, on it.
Being bored as a kid is common. Being bored enough to create a black hole is something else entirely. Everything Bagels are great but not like this. Therapy might have been a better solution. It’s okay to ask for help which is sort of one of Everything Everywhere All At Once’s many messages.
2 “You Know That Movie, Raccaccoonie”
Eventually, Evelyn is left to her own safety as Joy and Waymond snap back to their own realities. They’re confused about what is going on, so Evelyn tries to explain that they were being controlled like the chef in Raccaccoonie. Joy laughs it off, thinking her mom meant the Pixar film, Ratatouille.
This is a funny line all on its own and would make for an interesting sequel for Pixar. However, the line gets better later on when the joke turns out to not be a joke at all. There really is a universe where a chef is being controlled by a raccoon. Who would have thought a joke like that would be in Everything Everywhere All At Once?
1 “Just Be A Rock”
Another wild universe sees Earth being completely dormant of life. It’s just a bunch of natural rocks. Some of them, including Jobu Tupaki and Evelyn, do have sentience. Evelyn eventually has enough power to start moving in this rock form as well. When she does start moving, Jobu Tupaki is upset and tells her to be still.
She finds the idea of being a rock and sitting around a quarry peaceful. It is a tranquil scene in Everything Everywhere All At Once, but it can also create some awkward laughs in the crowd. It’s one of those uncomfortable silences where it’s hard not to laugh or join in.