I’m not a big Will Ferrell fan, but Ferrell displayed serious acting chops in this drama based on a Raymond Carver short story, “Why Don’t You Dance.” Ferrell plays a salesman who loses his job and finds himself locked out of his house by his estranged wife all in the same awful day. All of Ferrell’s possessions are out on the front lawn. One of the strengths of Everything Must Go is its honest treatment of alcoholism. Nothing is sugar-coated here. The supporting cast, Rebecca Hill as a pregnant neighbor, Laura Dern as a High School friend, and Christopher Jordan Wallace as a helpful teenager, all contribute to the texture of the story. Director and script writer, Dan Rush, expands Raymond Carver’s seven-page story into a full-length movie that captures the tragedy and hope of everyday life. Everything Must Go surprised and delighted me. GRADE: A-
I’m not a Ferrell fan either, but I am a Carver fan and this sounded good when it opened. Your review confirms that. I did like him in STRANGER THAN FICTION.
Will Ferrell can play serious roles with distinction, Jeff. In EVERYTHING MUST GO, Ferrell carries the film. But, to be honest, there isn’t much of Carver’s seven-page story in this movie.
What I want to know is why did they leave out one of the better parts of the story. The couple, and then he and the girl, dancing on his lawn. I think the couple was an important aspect-where we start from–where we can end up.
It was a good movie though and he should stop doing dumb comedies and head in this direction.
Yes, Patti, that young couple in the Carver short story didn’t make it into the film. I’m with you on Ferrell’s dumb comedies. But those dumb comedies make millions. There were eight people in the audience when we saw EVERYTHING MUST GO.
This does sound interesting.
I’m sure you would find EVERYTHING MUST GO intriguing, Rick. Will Ferrell’s strong performance really delivers a punch.