Review of Everything Must Go (2011) by Josh H — 02 Sep 2012

This is a passable character study experiment, but disappointing as a feature-length film. The problem with the feature-length film aspect is that nothing really happens over the span of 4-5 days that the film covers. The problem with the character study experiment is that Ferrell gets to play two characters ripe with possible nuances, but ends up just blending them into a single non-descript character.

Nick loses his wife and his job on the same bad day for similar reasons - his inability to kick his alcoholism. Over the next four days or so, Nick has to face either continuing the road of denial through alcohol or taking the untraveled road of sobriety into an uncertain future. All of this occurs on the front lawn of the home his wife has locked him out of, as Nick deals with a neighborhood boy seeking a father-figure, and a new neighbor across the street facing a future similar to Nick's.

This could have been a fascinating discourse on materialism, as a man who had it all is reduced to practically nothing. It could have been an interesting insight into the destructiveness of alcohol, but Nick doesn't change much in terms of who he is as a drunk or sober, and the transition from alcoholism to sobriety seems dangerously simplified. It could have been a study on living in the past, but Nick never really seems to struggle with that.

It's not a difficult film to watch, but it leaves you wondering why you did, and what you were supposed to take away from it. I like Ferrell's work and look forward to his development beyond his comedic roots. But this film really doesn't do anything with him or for him, or with or for the viewer.