REWIND REVIEW: Everything Must Go

MOVIE
Everything Must Go

CAST
Will Ferrell,
Christopher C.J. Wallace

RATING
R

RELEASE
May 13, 2011

DIRECTOR
Dan Rush

STUDIO(S)
Lionsgate,
Roadside Attractions

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 37 minutes



STARS
***1/2







REVIEW:

From Ron Burgundy to Ricky Bobby, Will Ferrell is considered by many to be the king of comedy.  He is one of those comedians where you can always laugh at their movies, even if it's the 15th time watching it.  Ferrell is a very smart actor, which is one of the many reasons I believe he decided to be in 'Everything Must Go.'  'Everything Must Go' is a poignant, sweet, and often dark drama about a guy who has lost his wife, his job, and access to his home, so he has to live out on his front lawn with all of his stuff outside until either his wife comes back or the government legally takes everything he owns.  This is the type of movie that Adam Sandler made when 'Punch Drunk Love' premiered at Cannes in 2002, but unfortunately destined to flop because nobody wants to see funny comedians do serious dramas.  This movie was very hard to find, so I like many had to wait for DVD to see it.  So I saw it, and I enjoyed it.  Will Ferrell is a gifted man, who really shows range in his role as Nick.  If you can take Will Ferrell seriously rather than comically just for 97 minutes, I guarantee that you will enjoy this movie.  'Everything Must Go:' it's a well made drama with really acting chops coming from Will Ferrell.

From the very first frame of the movie, you soon realize that Will Ferrel's Nick is having some pretty bad luck at the moment.  He has lost his job, with only a month left to have his company car.  His wife has left him, and has locked all of the doors into his house.  The only thing she leaves Nick is his possessions, which is conveniently thrown on the front lawn like it's trash.  Reluctant but willing, Nick decides to live on his front lawn until his wife comes back to him.  However when the government is willing to arrest Nick for what he's doing, he must attempt to sell his stuff as if it was a "yard sale" before it's too late.

While not award worthy, the acting in this movie is solid for what the film is.  Even though I'm only 14 and not as experienced in film as much as many others are, I'm still saying that I am proud of Mr. Ferrell for making this movie.  Ferrell is a very funny comedian, without a doubt.  However the performance he gives in this movie is very dark, yet very simple and somewhat relatable to.  That's right people: we can relate to a jobless, wifeless, homeless man who happens to be an alcoholic.  This may possibly the best performance given by Will, though I'm not including his really stupid but funny roles.  If Will wants to continue making these kinds of movies, I believe he should.  Who knows, maybe he'll walk into the shoes of another well known comedian turned Academy Award winner: Tom Hanks.  The other performances in the movie were also very good, including newcomer Christoper C.J. Wallace, who happens to be the son of late rapper The Notorious B.I.G. and Michael Pena, who plays Ferrel's buddy lawyer.

I did have one problem with this movie in the end, but this is going into spoiler territory, so if you haven't seen the movie do yourself a favor and just skip this paragraph.  You still here?  Alright, here they come.  I found this movie to be just one big 97 minute play that just showed only the characters that mattered to the story.  You may see some characters who were only mentioned, but their faces are never seen, which I liked.  In some ways Nick's locked house is just the backdrop of the whole movie, which is why we, the audience, should have never gone in in the first place.  Will Ferrell eventually gets back into his house, yet we are taken into his house for one scene towards the end.  To me, I felt that this ruined the whole vibe of the movie.  I felt that the audience should have never gone into the house, because we should be kept wondering about what is going on in there.   It's kind of like going behind the scenes of a show and the illusion of the performance is broken.  You may not have a problem with this happening, but I'm just saying that I thought it ruined the whole entrapment feel that Will Ferrel's character, as well as the audience have in the movie.

'Everything Must Go' is a different movie than most, with a great script and a fantastic leading man.  Will Ferrell is a gifted man, and I should have known that he could pull off a role like this ever since I saw 'Stranger Than Fiction.'  I doubt that this will appeal to all audiences out there, especially the ones who are looking for a smart comedy.  However if you know that you can trust Will Ferrell in anything, no matter how bad or what genre the film is, then you will undoubtedly enjoy this movie.  Director Dan Rush has created a poignant, dark, great movie that will shock audiences as well as give them a different outlook on Will Ferrell.  Ferrell is supposed to have a Spanish comedy called 'Casa De Mi Padre (House of my Father)' come out sometime within the next year, and that's also a different movie for the comedian.  I'm very glad to see that Mr. Ferrell is taking on different projects, because he is giving the world a different view of himself as an actor, being something more than just a dim-witted character that he has perfected over the past two decades.  If you can respect Will Ferrell as a serious actor, or just want to see a great movie, well, 'Everything Must Go' off of your Netflix queue at some point, so why not this movie be first?