Movie review
Evelyn Wang is a tired Chinese immigrant who runs a laundromat with her husband in California. She is failing at taxes, marriage, and parenting all at once. When a wild multiverse crisis hits, she must jump into other lives she might have lived to stop a threat that can end every world. The tone is loud, silly, emotional, and often very weird.
The film makes identity themes hard to miss. Joy, Evelyn’s daughter, has a girlfriend, and Evelyn’s refusal to fully accept that relationship is a main family fight. The story ends with Evelyn choosing to accept Joy and tell her grandfather the truth. Asian immigrant family life and parent–child pain drive the plot. Queer love and acceptance sit at the center of the mother–daughter arc, not as a tiny side detail. Normal viewers will notice the gay daughter story, the big “accept who your child is” message, and the focus on a Chinese American family as the heroes of a huge sci-fi adventure.
Community feedback
Was our 80% Woke rating accurate?
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Woke representation / casting
Lead cast is a Chinese immigrant family written as Chinese, not a race swap of old white heroes. Still, the film and marketing put Asian faces in the biggest hero roles on purpose, and studios were pushed back when they wanted a white star. Joy’s girlfriend Becky is a clear queer presence. Older woman Evelyn is the multiverse savior. Identity-forward casting is easy for viewers to see, even though the family match fits the story world.
54%
Woke political dialogue
Talk is not full of long activist speeches about systems. The clear political-feeling lines are about Evelyn not accepting Joy’s girlfriend, hiding the truth from Gong Gong, and later choosing open acceptance. Waymond’s kindness speeches push soft values over fighting. Noticeable on the gay-acceptance track; not constant slogan talk about race or parties.
44%
Identity-driven story themes
Asian immigrant stress, mother–daughter wounds, and queer acceptance are core, not background. Joy’s gay identity and Evelyn’s shame drive the emotional fight; Jobu’s pain is tied to a parent who never saw her. Multiverse “who am I?” themes mix with hyphenated Asian American life. Queer love and acceptance are front-and-center in the family climax, so this scores high under queer-weighting rules.
78%
Western institutional / cultural critique
The IRS is a pain and a joke, not a deep hit on America as evil. Stronger signal is traditional family shame around a gay child treated as wrong and harmful. Soft “kindness over tough masculinity” through Waymond. No big anti-church campaign or long anti-West lecture. Mild-to-moderate push against strict old family rules.
36%
Woke character or canon changes
Not present in this title.
0%
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Real complaints call the film woke for the lesbian plot, Asian “representation” awards run, soft husband, sex-toy gags, and Oscar DEI vibes. Appears on conservative review sites, comment threads, and social posts. Not a giant boycott storm; praise dominated, so this is mid, not top-tier backlash.
46%
Creator track record context
Key voice is the Daniels: Scheinert’s strong queer/drag advocacy (59) and Kwan’s identity-family focus (30). Casting director Finn scores high on diversity priority (51). Listed director Seiple and many producers are low. Overall mid, pulled up by Scheinert, Finn, and the film’s own queer-protection stance.
43%
Production
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