‘Everything Everywhere All at Once,’ ‘Abbott Elementary’ and ‘Better Call Saul’ Take Top Honors at Critics Choice Awards

Posted on Jan 16, 2023

It was as clean as a sweep could be. “Everything Everywhere All at Once” took home five of the top trophies including best picture at the 28^th Annual Critics Choice Awards held Sunday night at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles and hosted by Chelsea Handler on the CW.

The Daniels, Kwan and Scheinert, won the prize as best directors and best original screenplay, Ke Huy Quan took best supporting actor, although Michelle Yeoh lost the best actress prize to Cate Blanchett.

The indie film’s dominance was a bit of a surprise in several of the categories, especially with the Daniels going up against directing heavyweights Steven Spielberg, James Cameron and Baz Luhrmann.

Addressing those fellow nominees, Scheinert told them, “Thank you to all the storytellers and filmmakers that inspired me to become a filmmaker — you’re in the same category as me. That’s disgusting! Hello?! But you inspired me, and that means a lot. And your movies have changed my life.”

Kwan thanked his mother, whom he said was the inspiration for the character of Evelyn Wang, played by Yeoh. “She was the first person to plant the seed in my head that I could be a director,” said Kwan. “She’s maybe the first Asian-American immigrant mother to ever tell their son to go to film school.”

The three-hour ceremony honoring the best in film and television was notable for its victories for people who considered themselves underdogs in the industry, including Brendan Fraser who gave an emotional speech after his win as best actor in another independent film, “The Whale.” He said the film was about love and redemption and finding light in a dark place.

After acknowledging co-stars Hong Chau, Sadie Sink and Ty Simpkins, Fraser thanked director Darren Aronofsky. “I was in the wilderness, and I probably should have left a trail of breadcrumbs. But you found me and, like all the best directors, you merely just showed me where to go to get to where I needed to be.”

Cate Blanchett is anything but an underdog. The actress has been showered with awards throughout her career and it was expected that she would win best actress for her role in “Tár” as symphony conductor Lydia Tár. In her acceptance speech she talked about how all the female nominees’ roles were in concert with each other and called for an end to the patriarchal horse race of awards season.

Angela Bassett accepted her best supporting actress trophy from Troy Kotsur, the deaf actor who was honored for his role in last year’s “CODA,” which won the Oscar.

“I’m proud of the work that we did with “Black Panther” and now with “Wakanda Forever,” said Bassett. “We showed the world that we could create and lead a billion-dollar box-office success. And my prayer is that that door remains open, and the sky’s the limit for other Black creators and storytellers around the world to join us.”

The three-hour Indian action film “RRR” was also a big favorite at the Critics Choice, winning best foreign language film and best song for “Naatu Naatu.”

Best animated feature went to Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio,” which Netflix has strongly promoted during awards campaigns. “Animation is not a genre for kids,” said del Toro, who dedicated his award to director James Cameron. “It’s a medium to tackle bigger themes.”

Awards season favorites “Abbott Elementary” and “Better Call Saul” added to their respective accumulations of hardware, winning best comedy series and best drama series along with accolades for Sheryl Lee Ralph, Giancarlo Esposito and Bob Odenkirk.

Jennifer Coolidge and Jean Smart also continued their dominance with Coolidge taking best drama series supporting actress for “The White Lotus” and Smart for best comedy series actress in “Hacks.”

As always, the honorary awards were a huge highlight of the program.

Janelle Monáe was presented with the SeeHer Award by her “Glass Onion” co-star Kate Hudson.

Accepting the honor, Monáe announced that her pronouns are “she, her, they, them” as she recently came out as non-binary. After reflecting on the characters she has played in recent films including “Moonlight” and “Hidden Figures,” Monáe said, “I’ve tried to make an effort in my work, whether it’s storytelling through music, through film, through TV, through fashion, through literature, to highlight the ones who have been pushed to the margins of society who’ve been outcast or relegated to the other.

“I am non-binary, I am queer, and my identity influences my decisions in my work,” Monáe continued. “I’ve always believed that through storytelling, we are able to shed light on a human experience, an experience that most people around this world won’t get an opportunity to see. And I keep this glimmer of hope in my heart that when someone meets a character, like the ones I’ve had an opportunity to play, you’d be more empathetic to their experience … You want to be more like them. You want to be more kind, less judgmental, and more eager to advocate for them.”

In a flashback to “The Big Lebowski,” John Goodman presented Jeff Bridges with a lifetime achievement award. (Michelle Pfeiffer was originally scheduled to present but had to bow out due to COVID, as did other expected attendees Jamie Lee Curtis, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson.)

Bridger, currently starring in the FX drama series “The Old Man,” acknowledged his father Lloyd during his acceptance speech.

“He loved showbiz and acting so much, and as a kid I said, ‘Dad, I’m not sure I want to be an actor. I want to do painting, maybe music.’ He said, ‘Don’t be ridiculous. Being an actor, they’re going to call on you to do all of those things you’re interested in. And besides that, you get to tell all these wonderful stories and from all these different perspectives. … This is a wonderful profession.’ And he was so right. I’m so glad I listened to the old man.”