Rarely does a movie hit me hard and I go along for the ride. Every moment has a spectacle to it. Even the simplicity of having your taxes done. Often silly, mostly confusing but entirely entertaining. It was great to see Short Round back on the big screen with a very glamoured down Michelle Yeoh as a married couple on the brink of fracturing a family unit.
The story is of, Evelyn, a woman who has never really committed to much in life. She has many interest but many where she isn't fully invested in. In this case, her family lives above the laundromat that is failing. They are being audited, but yet she has big dreams to expand her enterprise. Her husband (the fore mentioned Ke Huy Quan) Waymond, is a kindly follower and believer of his wife who seems to focus more on the bad than the good. Pessimist, if we are to be formal. It is the Chinese New Year, and many people are invited to celebrate with this family, including a Grand-Father who is labeled as a man set in his ways and wouldn't understand the same-sex relationship of his grandaughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu). What follows is a grand adventure, first at the IRS building (of all places) and eventually to distant alternate universes to which shows her the way her life may have gone had certain things didn't take place. I absolutely loved the fact that Jamie Lee Curtis plays the uptight auditor, who seems perfectly fine in the core universe to which all revolve around. Evelyn, on the other hand, taps into her other universes to gather the skills needed to fight a fracture in the timelines that sneak into her mundane life.
Yes, there is a message here. And...to be honest, it nearly derails the film itself. But it was required to tie in the meaning of everything that is going on. That we are made of experiences of every universe that exists out there (if you believe in metaphysics) and that they road you didn't take, through gained experiences, with some that even was more enticing then the present one, means we would never have known our other lives. Children wouldn't be born, love would be lost, relationships move on. It is the grand question of whether or not if we got a glimpse of that road we didn't take, would it all mean anything. In this case, I say it almost derails because the universes effect one another. And in this story, it even bridges them. Which to some, may feel like a cheat. However, the fact that I even ask this question makes it a vastly interesting story. That is for you to decide.
The movie is exciting, vibrant, energetic and feels absolutely unique. It allows the viewer to slowly tie the ends together, and perhaps sometimes gets too far ahead. But doesn't let you lose yourself too much. What it isn't is boring. It is captivating and fresh. And, look, who can hate a scene of people being beaten with rubber phalluses?
That said, it is one of the most interesting movies of 2022 and hopefully stays in the minds of awards in the future. Because it deserves a bigger audience. These are the types of fun, philosophical questions buoyed by comedy that we need.
I go back to Ke Huy Quan. This guy can do funny and also bring a tug to your heart so easily. It's so hard to imagine him as the little boy from "Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom" because, here he shows so much range. His natural charm is shown through his love for Evelyn. He seems to be suffering through a fracture himself. He plays many roles here as well. Because, in many universes in life, the theory here may be that we will run into people we are meant to run into regardless of choices. That's a very romanticized view on the universe.
Kudos to The Daniels for their talent and joy of cinema. It would not surprise me if they helm a larger film in the future. Perhaps they can re-vamp a comic book franchise into something much more unique.
Thank you for this movie.
