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It’s one of my all time favorite movies, but you’re not alone. I’ve talked to a handful of people who say the same. My parents don’t “get it”, but I suspect that has something to do with the fact that a big theme of the movie is about being “of” the internet, being always connected, and unable to escape the weight of the world. It’s a very generational theme that isn’t relatable for them.
Being that you’re posting this on Lenny leads me to bet that’s not something you share with them 🤷🏼♂️
Maybe it’s just one of those cases where there was too much hype for us, but I felt kind of let down.
Hype, spoilers, trailers upon trailers ... IMO these things are ruining cinema experiences.
As someone who rather enjoyed EEAaO ... it is not a film that benefits from hype ... it's a deceptively moody / vibe-y film that benefits from coming at you by surprise, telling you a story you didn't know you wanted to hear/see, a pretty personal experience. It's that experience, IMO, that people fell in love with. Not that everyone should like it ... I'm curious to hear what you didn't like about it apart from "not living up to the hype" ... but your experience doesn't surprise me at all.
Generally, I'm completely done with hype and trying to decide on whether we should watch something based on whether it's "good". There are good objective reasons for thinking that, and I've thought it for a while, but the insane inanity of where modern mainstream cinema has gotten to recently has really burnt me. A defining moment of this being when I went and saw the latest Thor film, actually thinking I might enjoy it, and honestly felt like the whole industry had literally picked my pocket. Hobbit trilogy had a similar feeling. We can do better at understanding what we get out of films and talking about what we should see and why.
The best way to watch EEAAO is knowing nothing about it. Its never going to be what you expect and if you go in expecting too much, you're likely to be disappointed. Sounds very much like the hype might be why you feel the way you do.
Personally, I love it because there is more than just weirdness to it. It manages to have quite deep and emotional moments that fit naturally amongst everything that is going on.
For example:
spoilers
When Evelyn learns that breaking up with Waymond would have led to a 'perfect' life and the complexity of her feelings around that, only to be hit moments later by the gut-punch that Waymond would have been far more successful without her too. After that, how can she not regret the decision which led to them both being stuck doing laundry and taxes?
It's this deeper side and the depth and realism of the characters that really elevate the movie for me and lead to me still thinking about it months later. That's why it's more than just a cult hit IMO, but you aren't wrong if you disagree.
Hype is the not-so-quiet killer of good movies, but it's a paradox: good movie gets spread by word-of-mouth so much that people stop wanting to hear about it and create a negative opinion before ever engaging with it.
I do my best to recommend movies/tv/games with simple "I liked it" or "it's worth watching" type statements. I try to avoid overly personal statements like "you would love this" or "you need to see this", since it takes the autonomy away from the person who might choose to watch it. Additionally, I very often use the phrase "say no more" when getting recommendations, to let people know I'm convinced to try it, without the need for overbearing elaboration.
I have had things ruined by pre-judgment for the over-hyped, and all I can do now is try not to ruin things for anyone else. It's natural to want to rave about something we really like, but it's worth being conscious of how bias can set in and affect other people.
That's the first time I've seen that acronym, and my mind instantly played it to the tune of Old MacDonald Had a Farm.
🎶Old Macdonald had a farm, E E A A O🎶
But those kinds of plots (as well as the whole multiverse thing) have already been done in lots of shows like Rick and Morty, Futurama, Marvel, etc. I never understood why there was so much hype to begin with - the movie wasn't groundbreaking at all. It played out basically exactly how I thought it would, except with some incredibly unrealistic parental apology fantasy tacked on.
It has all the trappings of a big, sci-fi, multiverse, but at it's core it's a sweet story of an estranged mother and daughter trying to come to terms with each other.
I think that plot gets lost in a lot of the noise.
It hits harder if you, yourself, have had strained parental relationships.
Yep, this is it exactly. I saw it in the theater with my sister, and we were both bawling by the end.
It's just a movie. If you don't like it, oh well.
I waited to watch it when it came out on digital. But I hadn't seen even a trailer for it. One of my friends saw it in theaters and loved it, and told me to go in completely blind, so that's what I did.
It's really cool for what it is. But it definitely has its own vibe and style. I could see why someone wouldn't like it.
You are strange for not loving the film. It is generally loved so, yeah, not loving it makes you strange.
There's nothing wrong with that. Some folks don't love chocolate. Or puppies. Or sunsets. Or whatever seems to be loved by most folks.
I feel the same.
It's an okay movie that definitely feels like it had a lot of heart going into it. I can see that they put in tons of love, but it didn't resonate with me...
Maybe because it wasn't for me?
I actively avoid trailers and spoilers.
Do you have any thoughts on why you think you didn’t like it? It’s perfectly normal not to personally like something the majority does, but you didn’t really mention any details about why you thought it wasn’t as great as you were expecting.
I loved Swiss Army Man, the directors' previous film, for its weirdness, charm, music, humour and visual flare. Everything Everywhere was an improvement over all of these aspects so I absolutely loved it, such that I can overlook the pacing issues. They never lose the very human story through the madness.
I saw it before all the hype and loved it. Maybe the hype hurts the experience?
I watched it before I knew anything about the hype, and it was just an ok movie for me. Fun that they dare be playful.
I was very surprised when I saw all the main stream accolades it received. I guess maybe it managed to be seen by a lot of people that wouldn’t normally like weird fantasy movies etc, so it was something new and fun for them?
I watched it again later to see what I had missed. I had not missed anything. Did not finish the last play through.
I definitely normally like weird fantasy movies and EEAAO was a deeply moving experience for me. I think you have to see that's it's not a sci-fi movie. It's a family drama that just happens to wear sci-fi clothing. And it's one of the best written family drama scripts in recent memory.
I also appreciated the message that nihilism is almost the easy way out. Optimism requires effort.
Depends on your tastes. I personally really liked it because it represented philosophical absurdism and various existential concepts in an interesting/comedic way. I laughed really hard at things like the "everything" donut and Michelle Yeoh's big fight scene where she used "compassion" to solve all the henchpeople's life problems and "defeat" them.
Despite it's fun/weird/comedic exterior it was very clearly written with these philosophical concepts in mind. If you like thinky/philosophical stuff you probably like this movie too, that said if you don't like that kind of vibe you probably just viewed the randomness/oddness of some of the scenes as strange.
Here's the thing. There are a lot of people who are unhappy with the way their lives turned out. Or they have relationships that they wish were different. Regret is a universal theme. And this movie explores what might have been for characters in those circumstances with the possibility of changing those things in their past that they regret, while at the same the movie maintains a surreality and sense of humor that's memorable and endearing.
I think it might resonate more with people who have lived long enough to experience that feeling of "is this all there is?"—and I don't mean younger people whose lives are still mostly ahead of them. I mean those people who are divorced or contemplating divorce, parents with disappointing relationships with their adult children, those caring for an older family member who feel trapped. There's a reason most actors in the film are in their 50s and 60s, as well as 40s.
If you didn't like it, maybe that's why. I finally reread The Great Gatsby when I was approaching middle age and it resonated with me in a way that it didn't when I was in high school, to the point where it became one of my favorite novels. You are literally and figuratively a different person when you experience something at a later age.
I'm not suggesting everyone of a certain age or experience should like this movie. I'm just saying it might be why some didn't connect with it.
I stopped in half cause it was literally unwatchable and extremely inconsistently boring to me, despite being a genre I like with actors I like. It's matter of subjectivity..
PS: Please don't write me that if I finished it I'd might understand or like it. If I don't like half of the movie, I'm simply not finishing it.
I watched it without knowing much about it. It's absurdist and it does that fairly well for most of the movie. It's also shot and performed pretty well. There was some good action choreography, and thoughtful design. It pulled on the heart strings and had some powerful messages in it. The style was also striking.
On the downside it felt like it was trying to be a fusion superhero movie. For a movie it had appreciable depth as a piece of existential absurdist work. However, I felt that depth in the end was still relatively shallow - it's just that there aren't many competitors in the movie space. Much of the action didn't feel like it built or had meaningful stakes, it felt more like it was trying to meet a screentime quota from the producers.
I think pretty much everyone involved did quite well and put together a nice piece of art. However, I don't think it has the attributes of a classic. I can see it as a cult classic, especially with a segment of audience it really resonates. However I think it might be a little too Netflix-y to have that kind of staying power. On the other hand it seems was marketed or else spread organically very well, so that could help it.
Still, I think I and a lot of others saw the credits roll and felt that it was missing substance at its very core. I believe the story itself, and the unfolding of it perhaps, is one of the weaker elements. It retains a great tension through it nonetheless, but this tension snaps as soon as the movie is over.
I think it is appropriate that it is considered a good movie, but I don't think you are weird for not loving it.
I'd upvote you twice if I could, this well articulates a lot of how I felt
It’s fine! Just what you like. there are countless things that are critically acclaimed that aren’t for me, I chalk it up to different perspectives on what art should do. People loved that “ready player one” book, but I thought it was trash lol.
First time I watched it was on mushrooms and it broke my mind lol
I really liked it, but a big part of that is because I found the family dynamics to be very relatable to those of someone I care about. Tbh, that gave the ending even more impact for me, when the mother pulled everyone together, instead of letting her pride push her child away :(
The action and inventive effects certainly didn't hurt.
I loved it.
As someone with ADHD I felt a strong kinship to Evelyn. Though I think personality wise I'm more a Wayman and my wife Evelyn.
The line about her being the best to defeat jobu chubaka because she was the worst version of herself hit home.
I thought the movie was alright, but yeah I was also let down by the hype. The one trailer I watched was giving me philosophical sci-fi action vibes, so I thought that I was about to watch this generation's "The Matrix". Not sure why I thought that in hindsight. Turns out it was a family drama/comedy albiet with a unique aesthetic and execution. Don't get me wrong, it's great at what it is, it just wasn't for me. It didn't help that the movie took too long to end imo.
There was a point in it - I'm guessing a little more than halfway through - where it was very obvious how it had to end. The movie didn't treat us like we'd figured that out though, and it treated that ending like it was a big surprise. That was my biggest problem with the pacing, and probably why you felt like the end took too long in coming.
I had slight hopes at a couple points that they were going to take an unexpected curve, but it didn't happen.
No, it seems a lot of people just didn’t click with it for some reason. There are always a few people here or on reddit saying they hated it, and it seems like it’s more than the average movie.
I personally loved it, so I have a hard time seeing what people disliked about it.
The hype is a bit overboard. It's a good movie, pretty innovative but in my opinion not the cinematic masterpiece mainstream mediaheads touts it to be.
Yep, hype kills a lot of movies. I was floored by EEOAO, in the same way I was floored by the Matrix. I didn't see any trailers or hype for any of them.
Hype kills everything for me, and its a reason that my favourite bands stop becoming my favourite bands when they start getting mainstream attention, because the over promotion just puts me off.
Imagine the people it might appeal to
This movie is maximalist, so it hits a lot of things at the same time, so naturally people may tack on to whatever they are attracted to. If none of the above fits you, then so be it
It’s fine! Just like what you like. there are countless things that are critically acclaimed that aren’t for me, I chalk it up to different perspectives on what art should do. People loved that “ready player one” book, but I thought it was trash lol.
💓
You're not strange, but I fucking loved every second of it. It hung in my head for a few weeks after watching it.
Not weird at all, I loved it's left-turn into generational trauma, nihilism and absurdism (not unlike how I enjoyed Barbie's unhinged nature) but would definitely say a lot of it would resonate more with Millennial/Gen Z children-of-immigrants like Bao, the short.
I like David lynch weird so same as you, that didn’t bother me, what bothered me was the awful pacing and how shallow it felt. A lot of flash, little substance
I am in agreement with those who thought it was disappointing. Reminded me of a Disney World where all the "rides" looked intriguing until you got inside and found there were no rides. A bunch of brightly colored, sparkly doors leading nowhere to nothing. (And I am a Jamie Curtis slave, so....it was a hard let-down.)
Yea I was kinda disappointed. I especially found the ending to be rather melodramatic
You might wanna watch this. It is one interpretative framework you can see it through.
No, I absolutely detested it. It was the equivalent of that old trend where girls would do stupid stuff and scream “I’M SO RANDOM.” The weirdness had no purpose. They were just pulling out stuff for shock value.
I'm a fan of "show, don't tell". This movie spent the first hour explaining the logic behind its world, by one character telling another about it.
It didn't catch me, at all.
Asian leads in a big budget Hollywood movie are a big deal for people who never see people who look like them on screen. That's where most of the hype came from - excitement (some of it manufactured and emphasised by media outlets to show they understand the value of progressive representation) from fans about a movie that has a lot of Asian, and especially Chinese, cultural references.
The movie was a bit wacky but I feel it squandered a lot of good, silly ideas by lingering on them too much, and trying to tie it all together at the end in some coherent theme. It felt like the producers overrode the creatives' control over the project because the producers have been doing it longer and 'know what sells'. So many movies are ruined by creatively bankrupt executives desperately trying to make themselves relevant and killing a project as a result.
It was hardly the best film of the year, and it didn't reach the potential it might have if corporate interests hadn't stomped on the imaginative ideas at the heart of the story. However, it was financially successful and won Best Picture, so maybe the next time they have a big-budget Asian movie it will be more like a Stephen Chow film and less like a formulaic money-maker aimed at the lucrative Chinese market, a la Shang-Chi. It's a good thing the movie was made, even if it wasn't that great in the end.