Everything Must Go

Will Ferrell plays Nick Halsey, who arrives home from being fired from his job to find all his belongings on his front lawn. Nick finds a note on his door from his wife letting him know that she has decided to leave him.

Rapt with despair Nick, who is a recovering alcoholic, starts drinking heavily and camps out on his front with all his possessions. Eventually, Nick befriends one of the kids in his neighborhood, and together they hold a yard sale on his front lawn to sell off everything that he owns.

This is really a story about hitting rock bottom and figuring out a way to start over again. Nick selling off all his belongings becomes cathartic for him as he lets go of his past.

Will Ferrell shows some excellent depth in this film. This was huge departure from his normal roles. He may not have nailed it but I admire the fact that he took so much risk with this role. The movie could worth checking out for that alone.

I really enjoyed Rebecca Hall as the next door neighbor that helps Nick on his path to redemption. She impressed me in Vicky Christina Barcelona and The Town and she does an excellent job on this film as well. I look forward to seeing some of the movies she has coming out next year.

This movie is far from perfect, The pacing is pretty slow, the ending is too abrupt and it lacked some of the emotional punch that it seemed to be striving for. It was an interesting watch however and its worth checking out.

Everything Must Go is an art movie. Maybe that wasn't the director's intention but that's how I'll classify it.

I give it 3 stars out of 4.

Just a very simple, and ultimately touching, story about a man who's life is falling apart and it is purely his own fault.

It is nice to see Will Ferrell ACT and not play his normal over the top persona in comedies.

This is a QUIET movie. Just a mellow ride with some humor, some drama, a pleasant setting, good cinematography and production values and interesting characters. One of the better films I've seen this year! I might even be tempted to give it 3 and 1/2 stars! It is like hanging out in a museum for the day or a quiet afternoon enjoying a good bottle of wine. Not something you'd want to do everyday but for an afternoon it is a nice diversion from the mad, mad, crazy world we live in.

And no, it is NOT a guilty pleasure. It is a good film but not for everyone. Somehow I think this might have worked better as a UK or French film.

I love a slam bang movie like Kick-Ass or Inglourious Basterds or Oldboy as much as the next cat. But this isn't that movie.

Like I said, it is a quiet art movie. Like The Music of Chance starring James Spader from back in the 90s.

Writer-director Dan Rush did a very good job. Especially since this is his FIRST film and first Internet Movie Database credit! It is almost like something Hal Hartley might have done but less quirky.

OK, maybe not an Oscar, but definitely some kind of recognition for the performance he gave in this movie. I'll be honest, when I chose this off my streaming service, I was a little hesitant. After all, Ferrell is known for his raucous humor (which I enjoy), but having seen previous reviews for this film - I knew it wasn't "Anchor Man" material. I was more than pleasantly surprised. Depth, great acting (by most, if not all of the cast), impeccably well placed music - and a story that most everyone can relate to.

This is well worth the 90 mins or so if you have it. Proving once again that comedians can, and do, provide some of the most incredible dramatic performances on film (e.g. Robin Williams, "Good Will Hunting").

Everything Must Go is probably Will Ferrell's first truly well done film in years. The Other Guys was pretty good, Step Brothers was funny in parts, but this one totally takes the cake for being a great drama, and schools anyone who thinks Will Ferrell can't do anything but comedy. Though I doubt fans of Old School will think highly of this.

The plot isn't too much, but it sustains a film. Will Ferrell is Nick Halsey, an alcoholic who has had one too many alcohol-related episodes and has finally lost his job. He returns home to find out his wife has changed all the locks on the house, and has moved all of his belongings to the front yard. Frustrated and hopeless, he decides to life on his front lawn, and make the best out of a horrible situation.

He spends his day sucking down Blue Ribbons beers, until he is met by a chubby adolescent named Kenny (Christopher Jordan Wallace, the son of the late rapper Notorious B.I.G.). Kenny's mom takes care of an elderly woman, leaving him free to roam the streets on his bike. Kenny and Nick strike up an odd, but warm relationship with each other and when Nick is informed by his AA sponsor (Pena) that he must move all his stuff off his lawn in three days, he works with Kenny to help them hold a big yard sale.

A sub-plot involves Nick getting acquainted with the woman across the street who has just moved to the neighborhood and is awaiting her husband's arrival. The relationship isn't as strong or as well-crafted as the relationship between Nick and Kenny, but it is still a solid one.

It's also noteworthy that we never see Nick's wife or the woman's husband anywhere in the film. We don't need to, though. The plot works fine without them, and I believe that if we saw Nick's wife in the film we'd get too many arguments between the two which may result in (a) believability being low and (b) a possibility for Ferrell's comedy side to sneak in. We don't need comedy here. We get it, but in tiny, miniscule doses. There is almost nothing funny about this situation.

Once again, this proves that Will Ferrell is a great character actor, and doesn't have to get drunk, shout his lines, or get in goofy fights to be successful. Unfortunately, Everything Must Go's overall performance wasn't impressive, and it may be a long time before Ferrell does something like this ever again.

Not everything here is perfect. The worst flaw is the ending because there is no emotional payoff, and nothing to make our experience anymore than just enjoyable. I wanted more than enjoyable. I haven't read the short story "Why Don't You Dance?" by Raymond Carver, so I'm not sure of any similarities both this and the story share. Everything Must Go is a good film in general, but a great film in terms of Ferrell, who is essentially putting on a one-man-show for more than half the film.

Starring: Will Ferrell, Christopher Jordan Wallace, Laura Dern, and Michael Pena. Directed by: Dan Rush.

"Good without the bad ain't no good at all." After Nick (Ferrell) gets fired from his job of 16 years he comes home to find his wife has changed the locks on his doors and all of his stuff is on the lawn. Thinking the best way to fix things is to stay at home Nick begins his new life, living outside. This is a very very good movie and a very different role for Will Ferrell. While not quite as good as Adam Sandler in "Reign Over Me", Ferrell still shows he has what it takes to be a good dramatic actor. There are a few funny parts in this but this is not a comedy. It's a drama with a lot of heart and while the movie is depressing at times it is a joy to watch. Ferrell does have some funny scenes with his own style of humor that adds to the character and watching him with the actor that plays Kenny is a treat. This is not a typical Will Ferrell movie, but being a huge fan I loved it and look forward to more roles like this from him. I highly recommend this. Overall, if you like Ferrell you will like this, if you don't give this a shot still. You may like the change. I give it an A.

Would I watch again? - I think I would.

*Also try - Barney's Version