COMMUNITY / A.C.E.
May 2, 2022
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 17
Michelle Yeoh shows Asian
immigrant women are Everything
By Terry Tang
The Associated Press
ichelle Yeoh was adamant
about one script change
before
committing
to
Everything Everywhere All At Once.
The main character’s name had to
go. She was named Michelle as a love
letter to her from the directors.
“I’m like ‘No, no, no’ because I
believe this person, this character
that you’ve written so rich, deserves a
voice of her own. She is the voice of
those
mothers,
aunties,
grandmothers that you pass by in
Chinatown or in the supermarket
that you don’t even give a second
glance to. Then you just take her for
granted,” Yeoh told The Associated
Press. “She’s never had a voice.”
At 59, Yeoh commands the lead of
the genre-twisting flick by playing
someone often invisible — the Asian
immigrant wife and mother trying to
be everything for everyone. “An
independent film on steroids” as she
puts it, Everything Everywhere All At
Once recently went into wide
theatrical release. It was ranked
fourth for domestic box office in its
first weekend, bringing in nearly $6.2
million, according to figures compiled
by Comscore.
Yeoh’s performance is drawing
raves at a time when Asians and
Asian Americans of all age ranges
continue to be the target of
pandemic-fuelled
racism
in
Chinatowns, cities, and suburbs
across the U.S. But reports have
found Asian women have experienced
these hate crimes at a higher rate.
After decades first as a star in Hong
Kong cinema and then more
mainstream hits like Tomorrow
Never Dies and Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon, the Malayasia-born
Yeoh has grown into a movie queen.
She’s had integral roles in what have
been the first large U.S. studio
movies in years with all-Asian casts
— Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and
The Legend of The Ten Rings and
Crazy Rich Asians.
“So much weight was on (Crazy
Rich Asians) ... What if we weren’t as
successful as that? Did that mean
that we don’t deserve to be up there?”
Yeoh said. “It exploded and the way it
did made everyone realize, ‘Hey,
we’ve been neglecting this very major
part of our society for so long.”‘
As much as those films mean to her,
she was a polished supporting player
in them. “Everything Everywhere All
At Once is a whole otherworldly
experience where she gets to play “an
aging Asian woman.”
Written and directed by Daniel
Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (known
M
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PRAISEWORTHY PERFORMANCE. This image released by A24 shows Michelle Yeoh,
left, and Jing Li in a scene from Everything Everywhere All At Once. At 59, Yeoh commands the lead
of the genre-twisting flick by playing someone often invisible — the Asian immigrant wife and
mother trying to be everything for everyone. (Allyson Riggs/A24 via AP)
as the Daniels), the story centers on a
“He’s got a heart of gold. You know,
glammed down Yeoh as Evelyn he truly loves what he does,” said
Wang, a frazzled laundromat owner Yeoh, who is reuniting with Hong on
preparing for an IRS audit. a new Disney+ series, “American
Meanwhile, she is struggling with an Born Chinese.” “He deserves it.”
unhappy husband (Ke Huy Quan),
The film has hit a nerve with
her critical father (James Hong), and audiences but especially Asian
an
openly
lesbian
daughter Americans. Across social media,
(Stephanie Hsu). She is literally many describe crying during the
upended when another version of her film’s last hour as the relationship
husband pops up claiming to be from between Evelyn and daughter Joy
another universe. Evelyn ends up hits a make-or-break juncture. Some
jumping through the multiverse and say they feel like they’re watching
picking up skills possessed by her their own immigrant mother become
otherworldly counterparts.
the hero of her story for the first time.
The story is a wild laundry list of Others say they’ve gained a better
action, sci-fi, comedy, and family understanding about parents who
drama that includes people with hot
typically don’t wear their emotions on
dogs for fingers and a giant
their sleeve.
everything bagel. The first word that
“I think especially Asian parents,
came to Yeoh’s mind after reading the
they tend to be more critical. But they
script was “insane.”
show their love — they’ll save you the
“I was blown away that they had
best part of the meat, they’ll make
the courage to write the script and
sure that you’re well fed,” Yeoh said.
put [in] all these kinds of things.
“That is their way of showing love and
Because it wasn’t just about the
care.”
wackiness. The familial connections
For Asian-American women, the
[were] so powerful,” she said.
movie is a breath of fresh air. Hate
The movie puts the spotlight on the
other actors as well. It marks a incidents like last year’s Atlanta spa
Hollywood homecoming for Quan. He shootings renewed conversations
charmed audiences as a child playing about the propensity to sexualize or
Short Round in Indiana Jones and dismiss Asian women. But in this
the Temple of Doom and Data in The movie, Yeoh gets to show a wide
Goonies. Funnily enough, Crazy Rich range — from comedic and martial
Asians is what made him want to arts chops to heart-wrenching angst.
return to the screen after more than The actress promises she will never
20 years. Yeoh is attached to the give up on proving women can be the
sequel and agreed it would be a great leads in parts that are more than
full-circle moment to find a role for stereotypes.
“Why is it men can get to a certain
Quan.
“We are so grateful that made him age and keep pushing forward with
think because he never really left the all these kinds of things and women
sort of like get left behind?” Yeoh said.
film industry,” Yeoh said.
the
new
sustainable
Hong, 93, gets to chew plenty of “With
scenery too. He made headlines in development goals, one of the things
2020
when
famous
friends up there is gender equality, equal
successfully campaigned for him to opportunities. And that’s all what
get a star on the Hollywood Walk of we’re asking for.”
Fame. He will receive the honor later
Terry Tang is a member of The Associated
this year.
Press’ Race and Ethnicity team.
Ansel Elgort takes on Japan
mafia in HBO drama series
Continued from page 20
“All those worlds are very
interconnected in ways that
are different from what you
might assume, coming in from
a western point of view. And so
discovering the ways they are
interconnected,
as
Jake
figures it out on his own, is
part of the pleasure of
following the story,” said
executive producer Alan Poul.
The Emmy and Golden
Globe-winning Poul began his
career in Japan, and has a
college degree in Japanese
literature. The multicultural
cast of “Tokyo Vice” also
includes Rinko Kikuchi and
Rachel Keller.
Will there be any obligatory
karaoke scenes to showcase
the singing talent of Elgort and
Watanabe? Viewers can only
hope, although both lead actors
praised each other’s singing
talent — Elgort in West Side
Story and Watanabe in The
King and I on Broadway.
“I was so blown away by
Ken-san’s singing,” Elgort said
in perfect Japanese.