Movie Review: "Everything Must Go"

4 out of 5 stars

Synopsis: Nick Halsey, played by Will Ferrell gets fired from his job because of his uncontrollable alcoholism.  Right after the opening scene, Nick is fired by his boss Gary (Glenn Howerton) and is given a pocket knife as consolation for his 16 years of service.  The situation goes from bad to worse when Nick gets home and finds all of his stuff out on the lawn, locks and garage door changed.  He friends the next door neighbor, Samatha, played by Rebecca Hall (The Town, Vicky Cristina Barcelona).  She has just moved from New York due to her husbands promotion.  After meeting the neighbor, Nick returns to his yard to meet Kenny Loftus, who is a kid whose mom is overseeing a dying elder woman in the community and has taken temporary residence there to watch after her until she dies.  Kenny is left to roam the streets and happens to friend Nick through fate.

Review:  I have to say I am impressed by all characters in this movie.  It was great character development and a radical, but welcomed change of roles for Will Ferrell. He had some funny lines in the movie, but it wasn't the Will Ferrell you have come to know and love.  The characters really seemed to gel and although Kenny (Christopher Jordan Wallace) has only been in one other movie, "Notorious", I feel he did an excellent job playing the quiet and ostracized kid in this film.  The movie really focused on Nick and his relation to Samantha and Kenny.  I found the cinematography to be excellent with lots of tight panned shots.  I feel the movie drew from exceptional parallels in todays society, Losing houses, families splitting up, drug and alcohol abuse and learning to start over again.  I saw a lot of myself in this movie and even had some "oh shit" moments, where I found myself tearing up.

Its not the best movie I have ever seen, but it will definitely earn a "I will own this one" in my collection.  If you are expecting this to be a "Talladega Nights", "Elf", or "Old School", you may want to remove that perception from the get go, as that Will Ferrell will not be found here.  If you are looking for a film with great shots, good character development and a good message, then I would recommend you go see this film for yourself.  And if you do go see it, let me know what you think :-)

Until next time...