chrismsawin (24 May 2013)

A mediocre film lacking the key ingredients to make it memorable

I've always considered Will Ferrell's work to be somewhat of a guiltypleasure. Complaints of his comedy being stupid, childish andridiculously over the top are completely justified, but most of it hasstill been relatively entertaining. His cameos are usually a bitstronger since they're right to the point and aren't force-fed to youlike some of his leading roles, but films like Old School and Anchormanwill always hold a special place in my heart for the kid in me thatloves that nonsensical form of comedy. The few times Ferrell hasventured off into more serious territory have been pleasantlysurprising. Stranger Than Fiction is probably the best example. WhileFerrell's performance in the Marc Forster directed comedic drama wasone of his best and the film had moments of brilliance, but it wasn'tquite able to push itself into exceptionally memorable territory.Unfortunately, Everything Must Go is along the same lines.Nick Halsey (Ferrell) is having the worst day anyone could possiblyhave. He loses his well-paying job of 16 years and falls off the wagonafter being sober for six months. Upon returning home, he finds all ofthe locks and gate codes changed, a letter from his wife telling himthat it's over, and all of his belongings sitting on the front lawn. Ifthat wasn't bad enough, Nick's credit cards no longer work and he'sblocked from using his joint bank account. He becomes overly possessiveof, "his stuff," and has no plans of ever leaving his front lawn.Detective Frank Garcia (Michael Peña), who is also Nick's AA sponsor,eventually steps in and informs Nick that a yard sale could buy him afew days before he'd eventually have to take Nick to jail. With thehelp of a neighborhood kid named Kenny (Christopher Jordan Wallace)whose mom is never around and a pregnant woman who just moved acrossthe street named Samantha (Rebecca Hall), Nick eventually learns themeaning of letting go and moving on with his life.There's a good film lying within the inner depths of Everything MustGo, but all of the decent aspects of the film feel underdeveloped anddon't really have the chance to really blossom into strongcharacteristics or qualities to make the film great. The humor in thefilm is incredibly dry. Everything Must Go has a slight Lars and theReal Girl kind of feel to it without the awkwardness or strongperformances to make it memorable. There are brief moments that attemptto tug at your heart strings, but it's like it all lacksfollow-through. All the right elements are there, but just aren'tutilized to their full potential. Most of the performances feel kind ofbland. Both Will Ferrell and Rebecca Hall show shades of actually beingable to portray some emotion, but just when something starts feelinglike it's building to a memorable scene they fall back into ho-humterritory.Everything Must Go isn't a happy film in the least. Nick Halseyliterally has the worst week anyone could possibly imagine and justwhen things start to look up, he gets hit with something else. I guessthe film is trying to tell you to take everything in stride, one stepat a time, just deal with what life throws at you the best you can,ends lead to new beginnings, but it kind of felt like there wasn't theproper balance of hope as well. There are a few notions made that seemto hint at Nick making it through this and being a better person in thelong run, but the journey in the meantime will probably leave youfeeling pretty depressed.Everything Must Go is a decent comedic drama that offers mediocrityfrom all sides. The most interesting aspect of the film is its premise,which the film is never fully able to capitalize on. The humor providedis more of the chuckling lightly variety instead of actually laughingout loud and everyone in the film seems to pretty much be playing thesame character that's incapable of showing the actual spectrum ofemotions. Everything Must Go is fairly disappointing at the end of theday, but not necessarily overly good or bad in the long run.

collipal-1 (23 May 2013)

A solid and quite interesting drama

I guess that many people will feel confused or disappointed afterwatching Everything Must Go, because the mere presence of Will Ferrellin the leading role suggests the fact that the film is a comedy. Thatis incorrect. In fact, Everything Must Go is a serious drama, and thosewho can put up with that, will find a precisely written and veryinteresting film.The tone from Everything Must Go is increasingly somber as the filmgoes by, so I wasn't sure during the second half if the film was goingto compensate us with a happy ending. But anyway...the ending is notvery important in these independent dramas, but the texture of thenarrative, the performances and the realism of the emotions. And Ithink that the film succeeds in those three elements. The complaints Ihave against Everything Must Go is that some details feel forced, whilea few moments feel a bit dull.And, what about Ferrell? Was his incursion into a dramatic materialgood? It can be said that he had already gotten close to this territoryin the films Melinda and Melinda and Stranger Than Fiction, butEverything Must Go represents his first leading serious role, and Ithink he did a pretty good job. Besides, he is well endorsed by thesolid performances from Rebecca Hall, Laura Dern, Christopher JordanWallace and the great Michael Peña. So, in conclusion, I likedEverything Must Go pretty much despite not being an excellent film, andI think I can recommend it because of that.

george.schmidt (07 May 2013)

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.

Gary Thompson (06 May 2013)

The challenge of adapting Carver's spare story has led Rush to conjure a bit of melodrama the movie doesn't need, but in the last few seconds the movie rights itself with an appropriate note of ambiguity and poetry.

(02 May 2013)

Pretty Good

Nick Halsey (Ferrell) loses his job because of his alcoholism. His wifehas left him and had the locks to the house changed so he can't get in,and then she threw his belongings out on the front lawn. There is onlyone thing to do: hold a yard sale and reluctantly he does just that. I must have my head examined to be actually contemplating another WillFerrell movie (Ah, but you did like him in Stranger Than Fiction,right?) Yes, yes I did, but in nothing else. The man isn't funny. Hejust has good PR and one heck of a support-in-crowd. Stranger ThanFiction was NOT his usual goofy comedic attempt at comedy. It was moreof a lite-drama. Very good. Okay, Show Time: Hey, this is a very good story, not a comedy althoughsome may find some stuff not intended to be funny to be funny as thereis no accounting for peoples' taste in comedy. Everything is well acted, no goofiness or over-the-top slap-stick (welldone like in Stranger than Fiction, right?) Yes, like that. I thinkRobin Williams must have gotten to Ferrell and told him to do somedrama as it will extend his playing time. Whatever the case, it worked.Will Ferrell is a good dramatic actor and I'm thinking we will see moreof this side of him. Of course, he will continue to do the goofy, sillyand stupid movies, but don't watch them. This is slow moving, but you find yourself caring for Nick and he seemsto be handling things pretty good………..so far……… but, we are wary thathe might go off the deep end in time. You know, the calm before thestorm kind of thing. So we watch with our fingers crossed. Hey, we havequestions: Will Nick be okay? Will the wife come back? Will he selleverything on the lawn? Will he be hit with divorce papers? Will heever get into the house? Will we ever see the wife? There is a slight twist in here and it explains many things. The supporting cast was simply great and a good reason everythingworked so well. Looking back on everything, I'd say it was pretty good. Violence: No. Sex: Yes, when Nick looks into the neighbor's window.Nudity: No. Language: Yes,

Robert W. Butler (01 May 2013)

Funnymen seem to have a secret desire to play drama.At least Will Ferrell has the chops for it.

Rex Reed (19 April 2013)

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...

Caryn James (19 April 2013)

Ferrell gives a performance most dramatic actors could only dream of - restrained, nuanced, enormously moving - in this uneven yet finally eloquent little indie.

dmurilloroman (12 April 2013)

Everything Must Go

This is my first review so Everything Must Go is a very different moviecompared to Will Ferrel's other projects. He's always been the funnyman and don't get me wrong he still is in this movie just a couplenotches under and also more of a serious type of humor. In my viewChristopher J. Wallace did just an average performance, I don't expectto see him any soon in any other movies, but all of Will and hisencounters were very amusing. Now back to Will, this is by far one ofhis most dramatic roles since Stranger Than Fiction, his character'salcohol problem is quite depressing though and plays a somewhat hugefactor. I thought all of the repetitive negatives happening to Will gota little bit to annoying. In conclusion I thought this new directionfor Will is fitting him quite nicely but I'll always prefer the "funnyman" any day. Rating: 7/10

Elizabeth Weitzman (11 April 2013)

In truth, this would be rather familiar indie fare without its perfectly-cast star, who fearlessly alternates between bitter humor, aggressive desperation, and gentle helplessness.

Danny Blankenship (02 April 2013)

Heartfelt and feel good film about one's discovery of life, friendship, and finding emotions when losing it all.

Will Ferrell who's one of the best funny men working in the businesstoday takes a role that's offbeat and uncommon here, yet his choiceturns out for a good entertaining and emotional film of discovery. Itproves one can relate and find themselves thru emotions and bond withlove and friendship from others. True laughs are found during thispicture still it's more of an emotional discovery that most viewerswill enjoy.Certainly it will relate with the current times of the economicrecession and downturn of society. It finds Will Ferrell as Nick acompany corporate salesman who's just lost it all aside from his wifeleaving, he is then slapped in the face with being cut from his job alayoff in the job market recession I guess. Also Nick has his ownpersonal demons of alcoholism as when returning to his Arizona home hislawn is littered already with his scattered belongings, the onlymedicine that he can use to deal with living permanent on his frontyard is to buy beer.This gives Nick time to reflect and remember the old times fromlistening to old records and looking at old classic Playboy magazines.Aside from being with old material things he obtains the time of a boyfrom the community as they do baseball throw and catch and touching ishis meeting of a new neighbor a pregnant lady named Samantha(RebeccaHall). And to pass time before his money making yard sale, Nick makes ajourney to see an old classmate(Laura Dern)who remembers that Nick wasa good guy.During his time to reflect it touches Nick to see himself as a good guyas others have shown him, proving time with others brings out emotionsof joy and love. Proving that material things don't make one happy asstarting over and from scratch one becomes more loved and a happierperson. Really a good film of reflection proving that when life fallsapart if emotions are shared and new friendships made a new life canstart for one. True it's not typical Ferrell yet the film's sharedbonding emotional touch makes it a watch.

Barrett Hooper (02 April 2013)

Just when Will Ferrell was beginning to wear out his welcome with his buffoonish man-child act, he dials it down to deliver a surprisingly tender and moving turn in the drama Everything Must Go.

Keith Uhlich (16 March 2013)

Rush shapes Carver's fable -- a quick and resonant read -- into a flimsy hour-and-a-half tale of rebirth rather than a piercing character study.

Anthony Lane (16 March 2013)

The result is a sad suburban pastoral, a strain of film you don't see much of, or not enough; it may feel somewhat stretched, and Rush's additions to Carver barely push it past ninety minutes, but anything hectic or hasty would have spoiled the mood.

James Berardinelli (13 March 2013)

I was not waiting for a punch line. I was not primed to laugh. I accepted Ferrell as Nick and, because of that, I was able to enjoy Everything Must Go on its own terms.

Jack Gattanella (13 March 2013)

Will Ferrell

Everything Must Go is a very good directorial debut and an OH-MY-GODgood performance from Will Ferrell here he is not just going his usual(though usually fun) man-child-adolescent shtick. Like Stranger ThanFiction, here's a full flesh-and-blood character, and in fact I mayprefer this in performance and film to STF. This is an intense dramathat has one or two moments of comedy - one of which with Stephen Rootkinda comes out of nowhere and, while funny, is just bizarre and alittle out of place - and it fits in very well with this year's betterindependent cinema. It's low-key, tragic, and lead by an actor whoshows he's perhaps *more* fearless in drama than he is in comedy. Only major downside in the story is that it all of a sudden goes fromno real sales going on on that lawn to a whole boom in one day, so itrushes an arc that didn't need to be rushed like that, especially as itcomes after a particularly intense scene. But it really goes to someunexpected places for what the protagonist goes through, and thefilmmaker doesn't shy away from taking him where he needs to go (alsoinspired by Raymond Carver's short story, which, as one might rememberfrom 'Short Cuts', is the kind of writer that gives generously tostories of people in eccentric disarray). If you're expecting something goofy from the trailer, you've beenfooled once again. If you go in taking in that image as being ascatastrophic as it might seem - clothes all across the road, a manlooking lost, almost in his own self-made apocalypse - then you'll getsomething rewarding. Certainly for those who want to see Ferrellstretch his arms it's one of the pleasantries of the year; maybe not'Oscar' worthy, but certainly for one of those Independent SpiritAwards for sure.

Rockwell_Fassbender (10 March 2013)

Absolutely absurd from the word go.

I think that Will Ferrell is one of those actors that can do a prettysolid job of mixing comedy with drama, and I like when he plays humancharacters. Unfortunately here he is stuck in a movie that pretends tobe this grounded character drama about a broken man who's losteverything, while it's actually just an absurd story that doesn't fitinto any real context and meanders along until it thankfully comes toit's disastrous end. The film has a setup that I just couldn't get intoat all. Based on a short story by Raymond Carver, Ferrell's Nick Halseygets fired in the opening scene and then goes home to find out that hiswife put all of his things on the lawn and changed the locks on thedoor. Halsey constantly makes a point of mentioning that he owns thehouse, so why doesn't he just call the police and have them let him in?Seems pretty simple. Even more simple given that his wife just isn'tthere anymore; why would she bother changing the locks and throwing histhings on the lawn if she was just leaving? So right off the bat Iwasn't on good terms with this one.However, I can get past a rocky setup. Earlier this year, Hesher had apitch that I didn't buy whatsoever, but it still managed to impress mewith a strong character study and excellent performances. EverythingMust Go, on the other hand, offers no redeeming qualities. After theridiculous setup, we're loaded with scene after scene of painfullycontrived moments that would just never happen. Rebecca Hall plays theclichéd stranger that randomly decides to become friends with the manwho is living on his lawn drinking all day. Yeah, every pregnant womandoes that. Christopher Jordan Wallace comes along as the young kid whoneeds a mentor and finds it in the creepy adult with no friends, one ofthe most idiotic clichés in film. There's a whole ten minute scene withLaura Dern's character that is of no consequence to the rest of thefilm, adds nothing to the character and is clearly there as filler toget the movie to a decent running time. It's just scene after scene ofabsurd moves that no one with half a brain could watch with any senseof genuine believability all led by a performance from Ferrell thatcouldn't have been more lazy and lifeless if he tried. A dreadfulpicture with absolutely nothing going for it.

James Kendrick (09 March 2013)

Ferrell steps more fully and confidently into dramatic terrain with a performance that reveals heretofore unplumbed depths

Marcy Dermansky (01 March 2013)

Everything Must Go is a fine film on it's own, though the resolution, a happy ending of sorts, is far too clean and tidy considering its inspiration.

Targe (28 February 2013)

Wil Ferrel really needs to stay with his day job

WHICH IS BEING FUNNY.I haven't seen him play George Bush yet, but after this yawn-fest, Ijust might dodge. This movie was B-O-R-I-N-G, and I'm not saying thatbecause I was expecting Wil to be FUNNY, which is what he is good at,and I blame that on the reviews and the sell on this movie.I know you don't have much to work with when the entire freaking movietakes place ON SOME GUY'S LAWN. They should have called this 'Alcoholichas Garage Sale and Camps Out'.And please, when an alchie runs out of booze, your telling me he's NOTgoing to break into his house, a house that is half his? And when yournow ex-wife forges your signature and locks you out of 45k in your bankaccount, your not going to go BALLISTIC and show them right then andthere his signature was forged?This movie is cringe-worthy, horrible. Wil is flat as a pancake. He wasplaying Wil Ferrel, hung over, when he's not on set on his day off, ona Sunday. That is NOT acting. His next door neighbour, again, horrible,boring, not acting, not worth watching. The chubby black kid who wantsto learn baseball was the ONLY saving grace, and THAT'S NOT SAYIN'MUCH!Perhaps the thing that peesis me off the most is that I bought thismovie at a going-out-of-business Rogers Video sale (howz that forirony?) so I paid 2 bucks more for it than I would have to rent it. ...DAMN!!!