Everything Must Go
There are two ways to judge Dan Rush's directorial debut Everything Must Go. You can look at the film itself and/or you can grade star Will Ferrell's performance. To explain my rating, I would give the actual film 4 stars while Ferrell's performance earns a solid 5. Since they go hand in hand, the average represents my rating: 4.5 stars.
The film follows Ferrell as a recovering alcoholic who relapses
after losing his job. He comes home to find that his wife has left him and
put all of his stuff on their front lawn, prompting his decision to live on his yard. But local laws prohibit that (and some
neighbors don't approve) so he is forced to turn the whole thing into a yard sale within
five days. If you can spot the metaphor between the things on the lawn
and his troubles, congrats! You've cleared Metaphors 101. We'll cover
similes next week. Anyway, living on the lawn causes Ferrell to look
back and ponder over his life decisions. Helping him along the way is
newcomer Christopher Wallace (Biggie's son), the precocious child that
helps teach him a lesson. Again, a more overused cliche couldn't be
found, but it's done right and Wallace is a joy to watch on screen.
Rebecca Hall, as the pregnant neighbor who befriends Ferrell while he's camping on the lawn, is a pleasant surprise as well, holding her own against the star's incredible energy.
On Ferrell's performance: It's by no means revolutionary for the craft of acting, but is a breakout turn for the funny man. A more traditional dramatic actor could've lazily walked through the script and come out fine on the other end, but Ferrell's portrayal is stark, raw and real. You know the Will Ferrell scream? Imagine someone doing that, not because it's funny, but because it's their only means of expressing emotion. That's what he does in this movie. He took the energy he employs in his comedies to reach new manic heights and channeled it into the darkest corners of the human psyche. The closest thing we can compare it to is Stranger Than Fiction since it's his only other dramatic role worthy of note (in that it's something most people know about and can compare to), but that film had a strong narrative hook that took care of all the whimsy so Ferrell could just be "normal." Everything Must Go doesn't have the benefit of that hook, so Ferrell jumps headfirst into the pits of human emotion. I highly doubt it'll garner him any award nominations, but it was pleasing to see that he can actually act. And in hindsight it makes the crazy Ferrell that much funnier.
Onto the actual film: a fairly standard black comedy and that is by no means an insult. Standard can be good as long as it's handled well and director Rush treads through the narrative carefully. The story jumps around a bit as the characters get the inspiration they need to move on to the next plot point awfully quickly, but that affords cinematographer Michael Barrett more time to capture the beautiful South West landscape. Though there isn't anything amazing about the film, it is solid movie executed really well. A refreshing change of pace for Ferrell and a delightfully dark change of mood in the doldrums of the summer blockbuster.
Hollywood.com rated this film 4 1/2 stars.