Look At Us Now

Today’s the day, people. Everything Everywhere All At Once won a total of seven Oscars, including best supporting actor, supporting actress, director, actress, and best picture. In a wild coincidence, I also cried a total of seven times during the telecast.

It’s been a journey, and I’m not just talking about the past year since A24’s “weird little film” first hit cinemas and dominated every award ceremony known to man — a list that now includes the Oscars. But we can start there.

The movie first came out in April last year. Most films gunning for an Oscar come out much closer to awards season, around November. That already set apart the multiverse action flick as a bit of an anomaly. The ludicrous plot and supremely chaotic atmosphere made the film even more of a longshot to win awards. No one saw this coming. Especially not the glorious cast members, two of whom — Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan — made history with their wins today. 

I was prepared to feel things, but not quite like this.

The emotional overload began with Quan’s win for best supporting actor. I still hadn’t recovered from his historic wins at the Golden Globes and the SAG awards, particularly in light of his arduous journey back to Hollywood. And his acceptance speech should go down in history as proof that no one has ever deserved an Oscar more than him. Also? The entire film industry owes him (and a lot of other people) an apology for the decades of Asians being overlooked for acting roles that delayed his return to the big screen. Now that Ke Huy Quan has his Oscar, I have found inner peace.

I supported Jamie Lee Curtis’s win for best supporting actress, but I was more than a little bummed that Stephanie Hsu missed out. She delivered the drama. Either way, of course, it’s a net win for EEAAO.

The film missed out on best costume design, original score and original song, but nabbed best film editing, which could’ve been awarded based on that iconic Evelyn montage alone. Clinching the Oscar for best original screenplay felt particularly well deserved, considering how undeniably bonkers the film’s plot is. And the Daniels taking home the top gong for helming one of the most unique offerings in Hollywood was only right.

Michelle Yeoh’s historic win also deserves its own shoutout. She, like Quan, has spoken about the burdensome reality of being a minority in Hollywood, and she carries the weight of being a true trailblazer for Asian women in cinema with pure class.

Seeing the full cast in all its glory up on stage for best picture, though? Complete with an Indiana Jones reunion for Ke Huy Quan and presenter Harrison Ford? I fear I will never get over this. There’s something powerful about seeing the reckoning for Asians in Hollywood coming in this strong, not as a smattering of awards over a number of years.

I could go on and on about what it was like to watch this group clean up at the most prestigious awards ceremony in the film industry, but another one of EEAAO’s stars, James Hong, said it best.

“The producer [of 1937’s The Good Earth] said the Asians were not good enough and they are not box office,” he said while accepting the best cast SAG award. “But look at us now!”

Those words pierced me back then, and they’ve only grown in power since.

Look at us now.