Daniels

Swiss Army Man (2016)
7.1 Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

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Daniels, the duo of Daniel Kwan (1988)and Daniel Scheinert (1987), started out as producers of music videos debuted as filmmakers with two surrealistic comedies: Swiss Army Man (2016) and Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). The latter, photographed by Larkin Seiple, is an exuberant and zany satirical sci-fi comedy situated somewhere in between the Wachowski Brothers' The Matrix and Kar-Wai Wong's 2046 (and a psychedelic trip from the 1960s). In the first chaotic scenes we are introduced to a busy Chinese-American businesswoman, Evelyn, who runs a laundromat, has to prepare breakfast for her visiting father Gong Gong and is stalked by her daughter Joy who wants her to accept her girlfriend Becky, not only a woman but a white woman. Evelyn runs around to deal with customers while Joy keeps trying to get her attention. Evelyn is throwing a block party and inviting her customers, and does not want Joy to invite Becky because it would break granpa's heart (who was already hurt when she, Evelyn, married Waymond, not deemed good enough for her). Her husband Waymond too tries to get her attention because he is filing for divorce and wants to show her the papers. Evelyn, Waymond and Evelyn's father are summoned by a tough IRS inspector, Deirdre, who has found irregularities bordering on tax fraud in their tax returns (Evelyn routinely claimed her hobbies as business expenses). During the meeting Waymond hands Evelyn the divorce papers, but Evelyn reads the back of the papers and finds strange instructions. Evelyn follows the instructions, upsetting the IRS agent with her absent-mindedness, and finds herself in a closet being warned of danger by a clone of Waymond. Just then he is seized by a clone of Deirdre. Evelyn screams and exits this nightmare, but then punches Deirdre in the face. Cops rush in to arrest her and Waymond. The meek Waymond suddenly turns into a kungfu superhero and knocks all the cops unconscious. Soon, the news of the terrorist event is broadcast on television, and Becky and Joy see it. Becky is shocked, but Joy simply coldly leaves her, behaving like a robot that has been activated.
A scene shows Deirdre's clone harassing some terrified people and a mysterious figure (a clone of Joy) killing a clone of Evelyn. Back into the IRS building, Waymond's clone introduces himself to Evelyn as Alpha-Waymond, who hails from a universe called Alphaverse. He quickly explains to Evelyn that each decision a person makes generates a new universe. Therefore infinite many parallel universes exist at the same time. The Alphaverse, the primordial universe, was ruled by a clone of Evelyn called Alpha-Evelyn. People there are able to jump into parallel universes and hijack the bodies of their parallel selves. Alpha-Evelyn was killed. Alpha-Waymond and Evelyn discuss all of this while they are chased by Deirdre's clone in the deserted office. Raymond can fight in this universe only if he jumps into it, and to jump he needs statistically improbable events. Waymond switches in and out of Alpha mode. When he's out of it, i.e. returned to humble and meek middle-class mediocrity, he's amazed to witness Deirdre and Evelyn fight kungfu-style. Evelyn now has glimpses of her life without Waymond, a wonderful life as a film star, trained as a kungfu master. Alpha-Waymond reveals that Evelyn's nemesis is Alpha Joy, aka Jobu Tupaki, who has been trained to become a superbeing who can exist in all universes at once. Alpha Joy is threatening to destroy the Alphaverse with a black hole known as the "everything bagel". In this universe Evelyn and Waymond are being arrested by cops. Alpha Joy appears, dressed like a bimbo, and exhibits her evil superpowers, liquidating the cops and advancing towards the powerless Evelyn. Evelyn is unable to control herself and jumps from universe to universe. The frail body of Gong Gong is taken over by Alpha-Gong Gong, an old man on wheelchair but perfectly sharp and working with Alpha Waymond to influence Evelyn. Alpha Waymond has met thousands of Evelyns but never someone so pathetic as this one, so he hopes that precisely her failures make her fit to fight Joy/Jobu. In this universe Evelyn ties her daughter Joy to a chair and explains to her and to Waymond that Joy is being possessed by a demon that wants to destroy them all. Joy and Waymond laugh out loud. Alpha Gong Gong wants Evelyn to kill Joy but Evelyn refuses and jumps to another universe. Evelyn is now determined to find and defeat Jobu so that Joy will be liberated. She now has to fight Alpha-Gong Gong's gang, always jumping from universe to universe. Part 2: Everywhere. In this universe Deirdre confiscates the laudromat because of tax fraud. Evelyn flips through dozens of universes. There is also a voiceless conversation between Joy and Evelyn on a planet where life never emerged. They are two rocks on that planet. Evelyn reemerges in front of Jobu/Joy's bagel. Jobu sounds sad about her destiny. In our universe Waymond gets a one-week extension from Deirdre. Evelyn continues to live her multiple lives. Waymond tries to stop Alpha Gong Gong's gang and Alpha-Waymond is killed by Jobu in the Alphaverse. Jobu invites Evelyn to her bagel and brainwashes her to be cruel to people, to believe in nothing, but Evelyn is moved by Waymond's pleas for people to stop fighting. A gentleman in another universe tells Alpha-Evelyn that he would have liked to do laundry and taxes with her. Jobu disgusted decides to activate her bagel. The rocks move closer. Alpha Gong Gong's gang attacks Evelyn in vain. Alpha Gong Gong's bullet bullet stops in her forehead, something statistically impossible. Evelyn finally rebels to her father and introduces Becky as Joy's girlfriend. Alpha Joy and Evelyn fight. A rock falls and Jobu enters the bagel. Joy and Evelyn reconcile. Deirdre grants Waymond and Evelyn a new chance to file proper taxes. Jobu/Alpha-Joy enters the bagel alone and Joy begs Evelyn to let her go. Evelyn rescues Jobu from the bagel. Evelyn and Joy embrace. Part 3: All at Once. Evelyn, Waymond, Gong Gong and Joy meet with Deirdre in her office. For a moment Evelyn feels the impulse to jump to another universe but then returns to Deirdre.