Everything Must Go
Directed by: Dan Rush
Starring: Will Ferrell, Rebecca Hall, Laura Dern, Michael Pena
Rated: R for language and some sexual content
Independent films often don't get caught up in the settings and plots of big Hollywood films, but simplify everything down and to allow us to explore the complexity of the characters and situation. Will Ferrell has done a little of both, getting lost in his over-the-top comedy's like The Other Guys while shining in a few indie dramadeys, such as the brilliant Stranger Than Fiction. His latest attempt in the indie world is the film Everything Must Go, where he experiences one of those days that would make the biblical character Job cringe; fired from his job, his car is repossessed, his wife is leaving him, and he is locked out of his house with all his belongings spewed over the front yard. However, Ferrell's character, Nick, turns to alcohol and apathy to deal with the problem, which becomes very uninteresting after about the first five minutes of his movie-long condition. His befriending of an overweight middle schooler (Christopher Wallace) and pregnant new neighbor (Rebecca Hall) add some life to the film, but it never really gets to any substantial depth beyond pointing out Nick's desperation and creepiness. The film was almost salvageable when, towards the end, Nick realizes he must let "everything go", including his utter selfishness, in order to move beyond his problems, but the film refuses to end at that point, and we are left with another fifteen or so minutes that tries to make the film deeper and more complex, but simply destroys the themes it had earlier communicated. Everything Must Go shouldn't have been the title of this movie; it should have been the studio's thoughts on the script.
Rated: R for language and some sexual content
Independent films often don't get caught up in the settings and plots of big Hollywood films, but simplify everything down and to allow us to explore the complexity of the characters and situation. Will Ferrell has done a little of both, getting lost in his over-the-top comedy's like The Other Guys while shining in a few indie dramadeys, such as the brilliant Stranger Than Fiction. His latest attempt in the indie world is the film Everything Must Go, where he experiences one of those days that would make the biblical character Job cringe; fired from his job, his car is repossessed, his wife is leaving him, and he is locked out of his house with all his belongings spewed over the front yard. However, Ferrell's character, Nick, turns to alcohol and apathy to deal with the problem, which becomes very uninteresting after about the first five minutes of his movie-long condition. His befriending of an overweight middle schooler (Christopher Wallace) and pregnant new neighbor (Rebecca Hall) add some life to the film, but it never really gets to any substantial depth beyond pointing out Nick's desperation and creepiness. The film was almost salvageable when, towards the end, Nick realizes he must let "everything go", including his utter selfishness, in order to move beyond his problems, but the film refuses to end at that point, and we are left with another fifteen or so minutes that tries to make the film deeper and more complex, but simply destroys the themes it had earlier communicated. Everything Must Go shouldn't have been the title of this movie; it should have been the studio's thoughts on the script.
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