9/10
This a weird film…but in a good way. You’re going to wonder what you’ve gotten yourself into within the first 15 minutes, but bear with it. The payoff is worth it
It’s a challenging film to review because even a high-level summary the story gives too much away. The trailer gives too much away TBH. There are definite similarities to the 2001 Jet Li film The One, but they’re superficial & Michelle Yeoh is a significantly better actor. I will say that the stage is set early in act 1 and the main thrust of the story is spelled out then. After that, the cast gets let off the leash (so to speak) and there are some fantastic scenes.
Michelle Yeoh is the main audience POV character & she does a great job throughout the film. She starts off as a frustrated laundromat owner who is being audited by the IRS (Jamie Lee Curtis does a great job in the role of the auditor) while dealing with her distant daughter (Stephanie Hsu) being a lesbian, the visit of her aging father (the incomparable James Hong), and her well meaning, but not very assertive husband (Ke Huy Quan, Data from The Goonies and Short-Round from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom). The last very nearly steals the spotlight in many of his scenes and definitely shows that he deserves to be among this very fine cast.
There were a lot of truly funny moments throughout and some very heartfelt scenes by the end. I highly recommend it.