Review of Everything Must Go (1996) by Sami L — 15 Jan 2018

3.5 stars (some spoilers) I like Wil Ferrel in dramatic parts, he does a good job of walking the line between nice guy and unmitigated arsehole. He's a drunk, a loser, a guy blaming all his problems on other people instead of taking ownership.

He's nasty and generous to the eclectic group of neighbours in equal measure. Yet, he manages to remain likeable enough that you don't want to see him fall on his face. He does, time & again, but there is a light at the end of this particular tunnel.

Is the ending a little too neat? Absolutely. Addiction is rarely if ever shaken off so easily without professional help. But this is a limitation of so many movies that deal with alcoholism (Smashed comes to mind).

Movies by their nature want to leave us with a little hope, and many audiences demand as much. So we have a guy who has the DTs for one night then seems to just get over it. Yeah ok. In the end I don't think I would have wanted to see the alternative ending so I can't complain this one was too neat.

It's a nice fantasy so *shrug*.