Strange film. With Will Ferrell in the cast, and a title like "Everything Must Go", you would expect some sort of comedy given the set up and the situation his character Nick Halsey finds himself in. Instead it becomes sort of an introspective look at the reason for Halsey's alcoholism and job loss, punctuated by occasional lapses into his past life which at one time seemed to hold promise. The one big question mark I had in the story was when he showed up on the doorstep of a former high school classmate (Laura Dern), after finding out where she lived by contacting her mother back in their old home town. But then, didn't it seem like she lived just around the corner? How would he not have known that? I thought it a major distraction.
Adding insult to injury, Nick's AA sponsor (Michael Peña) has been in a relationship with Nick's wife for the past few months without him knowing it, and the shock becomes further unsettling. All through the ordeal of living on his lawn and slowly discarding his possessions by virtue of a five day yard sale, Nick somehow copes in his low key manner, which is only triggered toward anger when he runs low on Pabst Blue Ribbon. Befriending a young neighborhood boy (Christopher Jordan Wallace) and a new pregnant neighbor (Rebecca Hall) who just moved in, Nick learns a few things about what a jerk he's been and the value of friendship. You wish the story had a more upbeat ending, and in that regard, maybe it does tend to be more realistic than the ones where everyone lives happily ever after. This is a hard one for the viewer to come to grips with, because in between some humorous moments, it's at the same time a sad film to come away from.
Adding insult to injury, Nick's AA sponsor (Michael Peña) has been in a relationship with Nick's wife for the past few months without him knowing it, and the shock becomes further unsettling. All through the ordeal of living on his lawn and slowly discarding his possessions by virtue of a five day yard sale, Nick somehow copes in his low key manner, which is only triggered toward anger when he runs low on Pabst Blue Ribbon. Befriending a young neighborhood boy (Christopher Jordan Wallace) and a new pregnant neighbor (Rebecca Hall) who just moved in, Nick learns a few things about what a jerk he's been and the value of friendship. You wish the story had a more upbeat ending, and in that regard, maybe it does tend to be more realistic than the ones where everyone lives happily ever after. This is a hard one for the viewer to come to grips with, because in between some humorous moments, it's at the same time a sad film to come away from.