Everything Must Go Review

• 28th Oct 2011

Everything Must Go is based on a short story by Raymond Carver and was adapted to feature film length by first time director Dan Rush. Starring Will Ferrell and Rebecca Hall, the film takes a look at what can happen to a person when they lose everything and explores a handful of the ways that it is possible to regain some sense of self.

Nick Halsey (Ferrell) is having a bad day. He has been fired from his job and his wife has left him, locking up their house and dumping his belongings outside. With nowhere to go and no one to turn to, Nick takes to living on his front lawn and pays a young boy (Kenny, played by Christopher Jordan Wallace) to guard his things for him during occasional trips to the grocery store. However, once the police give him three days to vacate the premises, Nick must face his problems with a little help from his pregnant new neighbour (Samantha, played by Hall).

Everything Must Go opens with a voice over from Ferrell, stating a series of rules; ‘Rule number one, know your problems. Rule number two, know your customers. Rule number three, go the extra yard’. These instructions highlight some key points and are extremely relevant when discussing the effectiveness of the film. For instance, in adapting a short story the main problem for any filmmaker must be the risk of diluting the narrative, adding incongruous elements which do nothing to aid the story and ending up with something which feels too stretched. Does the film indicate that Rush ‘knew this problem’? Well, yes and no.

The character of Samantha is a completely new addition to the story and works quite well as the ‘normal’ element for Nick to contrast with. Their interactions serve as an interesting way to not only keep the story moving forward, but to also quietly reveal the unfortunate events which led to Nick’s current situation. There is also some depth to Samantha, but the character could definitely have benefitted from further exploration. Likewise, when Nick seeks out his old school friend Delilah (Laura Dern), the resulting scene is extremely touching and subtly expresses a sense of quiet disappointment and missed opportunity. However, Delilah could also have been more developed and audiences will crave further interaction between the two, only to be disappointed when she does not reappear.

Whilst the other characters could have been more fleshed out, Everything Must Go is ultimately a film about one man. Though the character occasionally feels like too much of a blank slate, initially showing very little emotion, Ferrell does ‘average Joe’ well and gives a solid performance. Whilst the character is initially unlikeable, Ferrell’s star persona should ensure that audiences are able to stick with him until the inevitable turnaround.

‘Rule number two, know your customers’. Ordinarily, any criticism of the trailer should not be levelled at the film. However, in this case it is important to discuss the way this film was sold, as audience expectations do have an impact on the way in which a film is received. Firstly, the trailer portrays the film as a typical Will Ferrell vehicle, with laughs aplenty. Whilst there may be occasional laughs, these are of the black kind and the film is more of a touching drama than a comedy. The result being that Everything Must Go is most definitely not the usual Ferrell fare. Second, the trailer features Nick’s boss stating that ‘the company has decided to make a change’. This implies that the decision to fire him was based on a change within the company and hints at repercussions from the economic crisis. However, the situation which Nick finds himself in is actually due to his long-standing alcoholism. This aspect of the film is crucial to the story, but is not touched upon by the trailer. The insinuation in the trailer that the film will be a typical Ferrell comedy undermines the key inclusion of this sensitively handled issue and is absurd when considering the serious subject matter which the film actually focuses on.

In fact, the issue of addiction is very realistically handled and is never used lightly or as a direct source of comedy. This is reflected in the ending of the film, which is upbeat despite no tangible change to the fortunes of the protagonist. However, his mental state is severely altered and it is possible to ascertain a positive shift in his outlook. This kind of change is crucial for addicts and marks something of a happy ending to an otherwise depressing series of events.

‘Rule number three, go the extra yard’. Although the film is a solid drama, worth more than the trailer gives it credit for, Everything Must Go fails to ‘go the extra yard’. This is a nice little story which is told with heart, but ultimately lacks the passion which allows the good to become great. 

Sonia Zadurian