A tired mother learns she can jump between many universes — but the hardest journey is back to her own daughter.
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These are the new words. Match each word (1–8) to its meaning (A–H). Say your answers out loud — "I think 1 is D" — then check.
1 = D (a laundromat) · 2 = G (a universe) · 3 = E (kind) · 4 = A (tax)
5 = B (a daughter) · 6 = F (to fight) · 7 = C (strange) · 8 = H (a choice)
Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert's Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). Read each part. Then try the questions from memory, and talk about the last one. (There are spoilers — that is fine, we want to talk about it.)
Evelyn and her husband Waymond own a small laundromat. Life is hard: the tax office wants to check their money, Evelyn's father is visiting from China, and her daughter Joy is unhappy. Waymond wants to talk to Evelyn about their marriage, but she is always too busy to listen.
In the lift, on the way to the tax meeting, something very strange happens. A different Waymond, from another universe, takes control of her husband's body. He tells Evelyn that there are millions of universes, and only she can stop a terrible danger.
To fight, Evelyn must do strange, unusual actions to borrow skills from other versions of herself — a film star, a fighter, a chef. Something dangerous is coming, and it is coming to her tax meeting.
1. What problems does Evelyn have at the start of the film?
2. What does the strange Waymond tell Evelyn in the lift?
1. The tax office is checking her money, her father is visiting, her daughter is unhappy, and her marriage has problems.
2. He tells her there are many universes, and she is the only person who can stop a dangerous enemy.
The dangerous enemy is called Jobu Tupaki. Evelyn learns something shocking: Jobu Tupaki is her own daughter, Joy, from another universe. Joy has visited so many universes that she believes nothing matters at all.
She has built a strange bagel that can destroy every universe. People from other universes want Evelyn to stop Joy — even if that means fighting her. Evelyn jumps to many strange universes to learn new skills for the fight — some funny, some frightening.
1. Who is Jobu Tupaki, really?
2. What has she built, and why is it dangerous?
1. She is Joy, Evelyn's daughter, from another universe.
2. An "everything bagel" that can destroy every universe at once.
In one quiet universe, Evelyn and Joy are just two rocks, sitting side by side, with no bodies and no voices — only words on the screen. For a moment, Evelyn almost agrees that nothing matters.
But then she changes her mind. She decides that even if nothing matters, she can still choose to be kind. She stops fighting and tells Joy that she loves her, no matter what universe they are in. Slowly, the family starts to reconnect. At the end, they are back in their small laundromat — but their relationship feels different now.
1. What happens to Evelyn in the "two rocks" universe?
2. How does the story end?
1. She almost believes that nothing matters, but she chooses kindness instead.
2. The family is back in the laundromat, but their relationships have improved.
This film is full of imaginary situations — other universes, other choices, other lives. English has an easy way to talk about imaginary situations now.
Read the meaning in brackets and complete the sentence.
1. If Evelyn weren't so busy with the laundromat, she (spend) more time with her family. (imaginary result)
2. If Joy didn't feel so alone in the universe, she (not / build) something so destructive. (imaginary result)
3. If Evelyn's father accepted Joy's girlfriend, the family (be) much happier. (imaginary result)
1. would spend (imaginary situation)
2. wouldn't build (imaginary situation)
3. would be (imaginary situation)
Put the verb in the correct form after would. Then read it out loud.
1. If people were kinder to each other, the world (be) a better place.
2. If Evelyn could choose again, she (do) things differently.
3. If Waymond left, Evelyn (feel) very alone.
1. would be (would + base verb)
2. would do (would + base verb)
3. would feel (would + base verb)
Fill each gap with the correct second conditional form. Read it aloud when you finish.
If Evelyn (not / have) so many problems, her life (feel) calmer. And if Joy (know) her mother truly accepted her, maybe she would never have become Jobu Tupaki.
didn't have · would feel · knew
Use if + past simple for the imaginary situation, and would + base verb for its result.
Here is the surprising part: the idea of many universes is not just for films — and the family story underneath is very real.
The idea of many universes is not just from films. In 1957, a scientist called Hugh Everett had an idea: every time something can happen in more than one way, the universe splits into different versions. Some other scientists also think there could be many universes, from a theory called "eternal inflation." But nobody has proven this. It is a real, serious idea in science — but it is still just an idea, not a fact.
Under all the universes, this film tells a very real story: an immigrant family with money problems, generation differences, and a mother who finds it hard to accept her daughter. The directors are called "the Daniels" — Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. In 2023, the film won seven Oscars, including Best Picture. Michelle Yeoh became the first Asian woman to win Best Actress. The laundromat and the multiverse are not real, but the family's problems feel very real.
Do all three tasks out loud. Use the timer to keep talking.
Tell the story of Everything Everywhere All at Once in your own words. Use these steps to help you: a difficult, busy day → the lift and the multiverse → Jobu Tupaki is really Joy → strange universes and fighting → the two rocks and choosing kindness → back to the laundromat.
Try to use some key words (laundromat, universe, kind, tax, daughter, fight, strange, choice) and the second conditional.
Joy believes nothing matters. Evelyn chooses kindness anyway. Do you think kindness is important, even if life feels difficult sometimes? Say why.
Talk about an imaginary situation. Use the second conditional.
Not sure what to say? Choose one: