So, it’s here in the annals of Google reviews that I finally see not just a few, but MANY people who saw this movie the same way I did.
After all the overwhelming critical acclaim, 7 Oscars (including best picture), and being able to see people of my ethnicity in starring roles again (yes I am Chinese), you can bet I went into this film with high expectations. I hoped for a quirky film that would successfully blend a ton of genres to create a wholly new experience. I did get that, but minus the successful experience. If I were to sum up EEAAO in one sentence, it would be that it’s essentially a science-fiction dramedy. It juggles a lot of things, but nothing well; it doesn’t work as science fiction, it doesn’t work as a drama, and aside from a lot of visual creativity, it’s not funny enough to function as a comedy. In essence, the film is a jack-of-all-trades, but a master of none.
One key aspect of good science fiction is that there are generally rules established to ground the fiction so that it makes sense (i.e., Inception, The Matrix). EEAAO didn’t do a proficient job demonstrating its multiverse, which made the entire film feel arbitrary and quirky for the sake of quirkiness. By not having a more focused direction, there was no gravitas or tension to sustain the movie, which made the film a complete drag.
This now brings me to the characters. Yes, they exhibited a ton of range, personalities, and emotions. But when all these personalities kept morphing over and over again (sometimes within seconds of each other), I never felt that any of the actors/actresses were playing anything more than caricatures, some of which felt stereotypical. It was very difficult to take any of them seriously, even when the film demanded you to do so during the more dramatic moments. To me, that does not qualify as Oscar worthy performances. Want to see a truly remarkable performance? Check out Cate Blanchett in Tár, who I can now say with full conviction was ROBBED of an Oscar for best actress. I love Michelle Yeoh and am happy that she is the first Asian woman to win best actress, but I cannot say with any degree of conviction that she deserved that accolade over Blanchett, who had a career defining performance in Tár.
Which lastly brings me to all the accolades showered upon this film. I can’t help but shake the horrible feeling that much of the accolades for EEAAO are a result of cultural pandering than it is about rewarding a truly great film. Believe me, I want to see Asian films succeed and I want to see more people like me represented in Hollywood. But at the end of the day, the work needs to hold up for itself. We all know that more than ever, Hollywood worships the altar of DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion), and sometimes to its own detriment in terms of how it recognizes certain films of diversity while overlooking other works that deserve more recognition on the basis of actual QUALITY (i.e., Tár, the Fabelmans, heck…even Avatar: The Way of Water).
I know full well that I’ll be dismissed by some as a sellout, a boomer, or both. That doesn't bother me. While I support more diversity and representation in Hollywood, I also firmly oppose giving brownie recognition points to projects that merely exhibit diversity and inclusion. At the end of the day, let the artist create their vision. If one’s vision warrants diversity, then utilize that diversity (i.e., the new Barbie film). But if it doesn’t, don’t penalize the project when it comes time for awards season. Believe me when I say this type of pandering will further damage Hollywood's credibility in the long run.