lewiskendell

22 May 2012

A return to more serious fare for Will Ferrell.

I'm an unabashed fan of manic, childish, loud, comedic Will Ferrell,but I also tend to be fond of his infrequent more serious roles. InEverything Must Go, he delves back into the realm of dramedy (with thefocus on the drama) as Nicholas, a man with a history of alcoholismthat causes him to lose his job as the movie opens. Arriving homedefeated with beer in tow, he finds his belongings strewn across thelawn, the locks changed, and his wife gone - as she's discovered someof his recent alcohol-fueled indiscretions. Events continue spiralingdownward with the loss of his credit cards, car, and phone. With no real place to go, he settles down on his lawn for a "yard sale"(in which he initially plans to sell very little), which allows him toremain on the premises for a few more days. A new neighbor (anunderused Rebecca Hall) with problems of her own may help Nicholasstart over and begin rebuilding his life. This isn't a "feel good" movie by any means, despite the occasionalquirky attempts at lightheartedness that are involved with the yardsale and the kid who helps him with it. Nicholas' relapse and problemsare portrayed pretty realistically and bleakly. He's a flawed man andlife kicks him around for the majority of the movie, but ultimately,it's his own fault. I usually eat this kind of thing up, but for some reason, EverythingMust Go just didn't work for me. Ferrell's mostly understated, somberportrayal of Nicholas was fine, but I never felt any connection withhim or any of the other characters. There just seemed to be somethingmissing, and as the story went on, I couldn't muster more than apassing interest in it. Everything Must Go is by no means a bad movie, but I can already feelit fading from my mind. See it if you're interested, but I'd recommendGreenberg instead as a somewhat similar (and much better) recentindie-style movie about a man with problems that greatly effect hislife and potential happiness. 

george.schmidt

22 May 2012

Ferrell acquits himself in this fine dramedy

EVERYTHING MUST GO (2011) *** Will Ferrell, Rebecca Hall, Michael Pena,Laura Dern, Stephen Root, Christopher Jordan Wallace. Ferrell stars asa downward spiraling drunk who has his worst day yet: after beingunceremoniously fired from his corporate job he finds his wife hasthrown all his worldly possessions out onto their front lawn and lockedhim out of their home – forcing him to sober up in more ways than one.Based loosely on Raymond Carver's short story "Why Don't You Dance?"newbie filmmaker Dan Rush fleshes out the bare bones storyline byincorporating new characters to interface with Ferrell and the finecast lends able support to his better-than-expected dramatic turn(shrewdly low-key but humorous as well) that works for what it's worthas a decent dramedy.

Ed Whitfield

19 May 2012

Everything Must Go is an intimate and engaging affair, anchored by a fine performance from Ferrell in a role that required a surfeit of subtleties.

John Beifuss

19 May 2012

The Raymond Carver story ends on a note of cruelty and ambiguity. The movie ends with a reassuring twilight hug, scored to The Band's performance of 'I Shall Be Released.'

Rex Reed

19 May 2012

Mr. Ferrell holds back the comic condiments long enough to paint the portrait of a man lost in low self-esteem with nice pastels of realistic restraint. But the crossroads he faces are paved with potholes...

Jim Lane

18 May 2012

... details are acutely observed, and performances are excellent ...

Roger Moore

17 May 2012

It's a bleak yet optimistic film, and Ferrell perfectly underplays his Carver anti-hero and delivers a rich, layered and subtle performance.

Betsy Sharkey

16 May 2012

No great epiphanies, just a few days, a little perspective, nicely told.

mercuryix2003

16 May 2012

Still Waiting for a Will Ferrell Movie

Impossible Spoilers Ahead:It is impossible to write a spoiler for this film, because it isexactly like every other Will Ferrell project: Improvised, not acted,without a particular plot or structure that is relevant to the premise.This film should have been titled "Waiting for a Film", because that isexactly what happens: Mr. Ferrell sits in a lawn chair. For the wholefilm. He is sitting in the lawn chair, because he has nowhere else togo. His drinking has gotten him fired, and his wife has locked him outof the house. I can hear the director now: "Ok, that's your setup,Will! Roll film! ACTION!!! Keep rolling for two hours!"Will Ferrell, like many performers who have grown up with comedyimprov, apparently made the decision long ago that building acharacter, creating a role, etc., are all too much work (andtime-consuming) when you can take the suggestion of a time, place, andcharacter, and do the same job in seconds. We saw this inStep-Brothers, and particularly the out-takes of dozens of scenes thatwere never used, in which he improvised all of the scenes, and used theones that worked. The problem with this is that if you invest secondsin your acting, that is the quality of your result.Imagine if My Fair Lady, Citizen Kane, et al had been made this way.When you see improv comedy in the theater, it's fun, but you don'tremember it an hour later. Certainly not years later. Everyone canquote lines from their favorite classic film, because of the care,direction, writing, and not least, acting preparation that went intothem. I can't call Everything Must Go a film in that sense; it's acollection of static, disconnected scenes, as Ferrell improvs his waythrough a variety of the same scenario, and the result is instantlyforgettable, and we have no connection or interest in this character.Unfortunately, other movies are following suit (Bridesmaids comes tomind), in which very funny actors and actresses are wasted inimprovising scenes, instead of acting scripted ones.A friend of mine dragged me to this film, which felt like slow torturein a lawn chair. If Mr. Ferrell ever decides to act in an actualscripted movie, I'll watch it, just to see if he can build a characterand create a role; in other words, act.

Simon Gallagher

15 May 2012

Everything Must Go is a pleasantly engaging, entertaining human portrait - a journey that doesn't physically stray very far, but which treads a million metaphorical miles within its main character as he attempts to go from broken man to redeemed man.

Marc Mohan

15 May 2012

By filling in the backstory of Carver's nameless central character, a typically morose drinker who has moved all his possessions to the front yard of his house, the movie diminishes the magic inherent in the vagueness of the original.

Ian Buckwalter

14 May 2012

Writer/director Dan Rush takes one simple concept from Raymond Carver's spare, evocative, and extremely short story - a sad alcoholic with his furniture on the lawn - and fills in the blanks. Too many of them, as it turns out.

Scott Nash

14 May 2012

Will Ferrell plays a grown-up and proves maybe he should do it more often.

Eugene Novikov

13 May 2012

Everything here's too indie-sanitized to even be properly sad. It certainly isn't funny.

Colin Covert

12 May 2012

Will Ferrell is evolving as an artist. Welcome to his blue period.

Joe Williams

11 May 2012

A superstar like Ferrell could coast through disposable comedies, but "Everything Must Go" is a keeper.

John DeSando

10 May 2012

Flat

"I have very poor and unhappy brains for drinking." Shakespeare,OthelloWatching a drunk for 2 hours is not my idea of cinematic benevolence,but Will Ferrell as recovering now lapsed alcoholic Nick Halsey makesthe experience barely bearable. While Nick has just lost hishigh-powered job because of his intemperance, he faces on the same daya wife who has left him, changed the locks, and spread all hisbelongings in the yard.Because he then lives in his front yard for a while, the setup allowsvarious characters to slip in and out of the narrative as they visithis yard sale. Although not one of these characters is arresting oreven memorable, Kenny (Christopher Jordan Wallace), a boy who helps himadminister the sale, does a credible job almost imitating Nick'slow-key mien, endearing him, and yet fostering the very weakness of thefilm: There is no fire, just resignation to a bad situation. Like Bill Murray morphing into serious actor from charming clown,Ferrell is believable as a lapsed alcoholic who needs to work on hissocial skills. (Both Murray and Ferrell are superior to Robin Williams'forays into the serious, which can end up maudlin and didactic.)Samantha (Rebecca Hall) next door provides a sweet counterpoint toNick's absent wife as Sam talks with him about his problems and heabout hers, both the better for the interaction. Not enough is seen ofthe impressive Laura Dern as Delilah, a former high school chum whosebrief encounter with Nick now begs for more on screen during thesubdued drama.Yes, "subdued,"for, like a non-comedic Seinfeld, nothing happens. Iappreciate the attempt by first-time helmer Dan Rush to emulate low-keyEuropean dramas, but the minimalism on this side of the pond doesn'thave the same impact. Ironically the most charged scene is at thebeginning when Nick is being let go. However, even when he finds outlater what his wife has been up to, no sparks fly, no voice gets raisedmuch, and the confrontation is muted.If for nothing else, Everything Must Go makes an effective study of thedangers in excessive drinking, and certainly no one watching could beseduced into binging on Pabst Blue Ribbon. Like the beer, the film isflat.

kkentuckywoman

09 May 2012

Can someone explain the ending?

I liked Will Ferrell so much in STRANGER THAN FICTION, which had one ofthe most interesting screenplays ever AND a very sweet and convincinglove story at its core, so I thought I'd give this one a try. I alsolike Rebecca Hall, having "discovered" her in STARTER FOR 10. Thismovie was only so-so, but the performances were all good. The yard salestuff was fun for anyone who likes antique malls and garage sales aswas his tutelage of the young boy who helps him price and sell things.My question is about the ending--I didn't understand what Hall'scharacter gave Ferrell and what the significance was. Can anyoneenlighten me? Adding a SPOILER alert, of course, to your answer.

Kimberly Gadette

08 May 2012

Ferrell's credible performance notwithstanding, it's as if Raymond Carver's minimalism has overtaken the show. No 4-page short story here, we'll need a little something more for a 96-minute film.

KineticSeoul

07 May 2012

A man dealing with life on the front yard

The premise is basically about a alcoholic man that got laid off hisjob and is rock bottom and having to deal with life in the front yardbecause of issues with his wife. The movie started out moderately wellbut sometimes the movie didn't seem to know what direction it wanted togo. Some parts of the dialogue is actually well written, not a lot butsome. Bonding and facing loneliness aspect is decently written with thelife happens aspect of it all as well, but just didn't have the effectit tries to go for by the end of it. It tries to bring out some emotionat the end but just didn't really work. It's a alright movie but notreally a good one. Lastly Will Ferrell played this role really well.6.5/10