Rated: MA15+
Directed by: Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert)
Produced by: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, Joe Russo, Anthony Russo, Jonathan Wang, Mike Larocca
Starring: Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, Jenny Slate, Harry Shum Jr., with James Hong and Jamie Lee Curtis.
‘No time to wait’.
Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh) and Waymond Wang (Ke Huy Quan) own and run a laundry they live above, in a small apartment with their daughter, Eleanor (Stephanie Hsu) and elderly father (James Hong).
Evelyn sits at the kitchen table, sifting through paperwork. It’s time to submit their taxes.
A mundane existence. But seen like life viewed through a mirror. So even at the beginning, the film feels otherworldly.
That feeling builds as the film circles around again and again, so the sign of a bagel becomes significant, a fanny pack with a fluffy pig hanging as an ornament becomes a weapon, only to reappear later as a tattoo. Or the mispronunciation of the title of a movie, Racoontouille (instead of, Ratatouille) becomes a reality.
The thought put into the making of this film is seen in the detail of creating this infinite multi-universe where the characters jump from one dimension to the other. ‘Verse jumping’ gives them the ability of their other self in the another dimension. So, need martial arts? Verse jump to a universe where your self has that skill. All it takes is a particular act, a touch of an earpiece and you’re set.
The particular required act to verse jump gets bizarre and hilarious, as do some of the other selves in other universes.
And the dynamics of the characters fold back again and again with a constant, sometimes gentle humour – a customer’s bag of laundry kept upstairs in the apartment, ‘I think the clothes are happier there’ – and sometimes delightfully twisted humour (sausages for fingers anyone?), weaved all the way through the storyline.
Even the interchange of language from English to Chinese adds to the blurring as Waymond arrives in this universe to take the body of Evelyn’s husband in the current universe to tell her that she’s the only one who can save the multiverse from the evil Toboki (Stephanie Hsu). All the while tax auditor (Jamie Lee Curtis) is telling Evelyn that there can’t be anything more important than what’s she’s telling her about her current taxes, right now. And this coming from an award-winning auditor – the phallic trophies on proud display.
I have to say, Jamie Lee Curtis is just pure gold as this tax auditor character. Absolutely brilliant casting and performance. Hilarious.
The whole cast is amazing with Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn in what looks like herself as an actress blended into the multiverse story.
There’s some far-reaching ideas here with the title of the movie just so apt.
And added to the Kung Fu fighting and humour there’s also a good foundation to the family drama so I had a good giggle, got a little teary, and was pleasantly surprised by edgy concepts held together with the use of chapters to give the movie structure.
I don’t want to give too much away because there will be plenty of buzz about this film and if you’re reading this review, you’re more than likely going to go watch it and I highly recommend it: go watch it.