Everything Must Go Review
By: Joshua “What happened? Life happened.” Richey
When you attend an independent film festival such as the one that TJ and I attended last month in Tribeca, you don’t expect to see movies with actors such as Will Ferrell in them. When you think of Ferrell, you think of his obnoxious comedies, not independent dramas. But every once in a while, Will takes on a role that showcases that he’s not just a funny man, but that he’s a terrific thespian with a lot of range. This is precisely the case with Dan Rush’s Everything Must Go.
Everything Must Go tells the story of Nick Halsey (Ferrell), a former alcoholic that relapses on a business trip in Denver and suffers the consequences both in work and at home. Nick is fired from his job and comes home only to find that his wife has left, she’s changed the locks on the doors, and she’s left all of his possessions out on the front yard. Nick’s alcohol abuse has severed his relationships with everyone but his close friend Frank (Michael Pena), a local police officer. With nowhere to go and no money to his name, Nick begins to live on his front lawn. When the local authorities inform Nick that it’s against the law to live on his lawn, it’s Frank that convinces his friend to hold a yard sale – which would allow him to continue to live on the lawn for five days. It’s during those five days that Nick bonds with a gullible kid down the street and begins to slowly realize the ramifications of his actions.
While Everything Must Go is classified as a drama, there are a handful of laughs throughout the film that help keep it from becoming too serious. My writing partner TJ compared it to Alexander Payne’s 2004 film, Sidways – which I think is a terrific comparison. For those that are accustomed to seeing Ferrell portray these over-the-top characters like in Anchor Man and Talladega Nights, you would be pleasantly surprised by just how good he is in a serious role.
Everything Must Go is an enjoyable little film that I would recommend to anyone. I give it 3 Yankee-signed baseballs out of 5.
