Everything Must Go

[MacGuffin]

Trailer here.

Release Date: May 13th, 2011 (limited)

Starring: Will Ferrell, Michael Pena, Rebecca Hall, Christopher Jordan Wallace, Glenn Howerton

Directed by: Dan Rush

Premise: After his wife throws him and all his belongings out of their house, a recently unemployed, alcoholic man spends the next four days trying to sell his possessions.

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Just seeing Rebecca Hall in the trailer makes me want to see this.

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from my blog:

"Everything Must Go" is a dramedy from first time writer/director Dan Rush based on a short story by Raymond Carver. The film stars Will Ferrell as a lapsed alcoholic who, after getting fired from his job, arrives home to find that his wife has left him. She's also changed the locks, put a hold on their bank account and moved all of his stuff out onto the lawn. He recruits a young boy to help sell his things after a police officer (also conveniently his AA sponsor) tells him he has 3 days to get off his lawn. He also forms a friendship with his pregnant/married neighbor played by (the lovely) Rebecca Hall. (I guess pregnancy is kind of the cue to the audience that a romance is probably not in the cards?) The trailer really sells the comedy (obviously trying to get Ferrell fans into the theatre) but the film is quite a bit darker than that.

Like he did in "Stranger Than Fiction" Ferrell shows his range here, convincingly playing the drama and comedy without slipping into a "Will Ferrell character." The film features good performances from Ferrell, Hall, Stephen Root and (in a part that's far too small) Laura Dern. But it isn't quite funny, emotional or real enough to be anything other than just "okay." Other than the obvious "shedding your baggage/starting over" theme, it's not really clear why Ferrell's character would want to get rid of all his stuff. (He will actually need some of it to live a normal life, yes?) And at the end of the film you're really not sure if Ferrell's character is going to be any better off than he was in the beginning. He's already been established as a lapsed alcoholic, so without anything concrete to look forward to, I'm not sure we can believe his newfound outlook will last.

[socketlevel]

I really want to see this, i don't know why exactly but that trailer made it so.

[72teeth]

it could have been really good, it needed to go a little bit darker with the alchholism and put a little weight on it, came off like it was being played safe for a tv movie- watch Love Liza

[Mr. Merrill Lehrl]

High-five the Love Liza comment.  Haven't seen this one.

[72teeth]

didnt somebody else through out a LL ref recently? I was just concuring, it really doesnt come up enough what a great film it is- a personal top ten of mine,  any one else?

[Mr. Merrill Lehrl]

Yeah I quoted Love Liza in the PSH thread.

[72teeth]

then yes, high fives are most certainly called for  

[socketlevel]

LL was a very important movie for me when it came out. The cathartic affect it had was greatly needed as I had to let go of someone who I held on to emotionally far longer than i should have. It taught me that lesson and took on part of the inspiration, when everything inside you doesn't want to do it. It will always have a special place.