by Laurance Lem Lee
This past weekend, “Everything, Everywhere, All at Once” won seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress (Michelle Yeoh), Best Supporting Actor (Ke Huy Quan), and Best Supporting Actress (Jamie Lee Curtis).
It’s an incredible film, and the wins are well deserved. What surprised me — as I sat there watching with a group in the Commonwealth Club — was how moved I was about the occasion.
I might have cried, good crying though, and overwhelmingly emotional. It was Ke Huy Quan’s speech and energy early in the show that did it for me. Holding back tears, he said, “My mom is 84 years old and she is at home watching. Mom, I just won an Oscar! My journey started on a boat. I spent a year in a refugee camp. And somewhere I ended up here on Hollywood’s biggest stage.”
Oscars acceptance speech by Ke Huy Quan.
I don’t remember the rest of what he said. That guy could make a piece of cardboard cry.
I shared this personal anecdote at the watch party: Way back, as a San Francisco public schools kid, our class was invited to a special screening of a movie at the beautiful Northpoint Theatre across town. After the bus rides, the snacks, and other preteen mayhem, we settled into our seats. The movie was finally revealed: a special preview of the sequel to “Indiana Jones.” The movie featured a roughly 10-year-old sidekick to Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones, often screaming, “Dr. Jones! Dr. Jones!” It was Quan’s first big role.
And just last year, I got invited to a screening of a small film with an Asian American story and a highly Asian American cast. The movie was “Everything, Everywhere, All at Once.” After the drive over, the popcorn, and the chat with my aisle buddy Danny Sauter, I was overwhelmed by Michelle Yeoh and the story of a mom in some crazy multiverse. The actor playing the husband was just so perfect, but I couldn’t place him, couldn’t remember his prior roles. On my phone, I looked the name up from the credits — that Ke Huy Quan!
In my heart, I could relate to the struggle, the journey, being counted out. I couldn’t put it into words, but I knew what he was feeling. I recognized my feelings in his face on that big television screen. He’s been through quite a ride in between those movies.
As a kid, I had a love-hate relationship with Hollywood films. I wished I was many of the main characters, no matter the race. I fell for many of the actresses, no matter the race. I honestly enjoyed “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” even with that horribly stereotypical role of Mickey Rooney. I loved “Joy Luck Club,” even the parts that I could not relate. I celebrated the Oscars for Halle Berry and Denzel Washington and Youn Yuh-jung. So I saw this year’s Oscars as not that big a deal, in my head.
It was not just Quan, but also Michelle Yeoh, who broke through big with these Oscar wins.
Michelle Yeoh said, “For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities. This is proof that dreams– dream big and dreams do come true. And ladies, don’t let anybody tell you you are ever past your prime. Never give up.”
Oscars acceptance speech by Michelle Yeoh.
Yeoh, radiant in her ivory silk organza Dior Haute Couture gown and diamond Moussaieff jewelry, was beaming. Yeoh’s 84 year old mom, across the Pacific Ocean in Malaysia, was beaming too. Yeoh was up against Ana de Armas, Cate Blanchett, Andrea Riseborough, and Michelle Williams. Asians and Asian Americans have had few Oscars in their awards cabinets over the decades.
There was an Asian American immigrant nominated for the Best Actress before, in 1936. Merle Oberon, nominated for “The Dark Angel,” hid her half South Asian identity and made up a full European background. Double Oscar winner Vivien Leigh, had a mother who may have been part Parsi Indian.
An actress did win an Oscar for playing an Asian American fictional character back in 1938. This actress was German Luise Rainer, heavily made up (“yellowface”) for her character in the film adaption to Pearl Buck’s “The Good Earth.” MGM could have given that role to contemporary Asian American actress Anna May Wong, but instead offered Wong the role of scheming seducer.
Hours before Yeoh gave her acceptance speech, I was standing in front of a seven-foot tribute to Anna May Wong (1905–1961), describing the many of the actress’s firsts. The Wong tribute was next to tributes of many trailblazing Asian American women in a Ferry Building event titled “Our Time,” organized by Zeien Cheung, a co-founder of Asians Are Strong.
Right after the Ferry Building event ended, we attendees crossed the block to the Commonwealth Club for the “Asians Are Strong” sponsored Academy Awards watch party. The hosts for the watch party were award-winning journalist May Lee and actress Kelly Hu, who were working together on a podcast titled “Shoes Off Inside with MKT.”
It was there, amidst so many other film fans, that I was overcome with emotion, caught up in the wins and the speeches.
Later in the evening, as the sun went down, I looked out the tall windows, out to the Bay. The Bay Bridge lights twinkled and proudly showed off their beauty.
Laurance Lem Lee is a 2nd generation Chinese American and a San Francisco resident. Follow him on Twitter.
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