Everything Must Go
Good title, but generic. Decent movie, but forgettable. Lots of very good photography, but it doesn’t look as good in my mind when recollecting it. The story is an interesting one, on paper anyway: man loses job, loses wife, loses house. She puts his stuff out on the lawn. (What a bitch.) What does he do? Drinks, mostly. Then slowly picks up the pieces, duh.
Will Ferrell is a brilliant comedic actor. Why is it that comedians don’t get recognized by the Academy awards? This is Farrell’s second turn at indie drama (following 2006’s Stranger than Fiction), and it’s a well-done, subdued performance, with enough of Ferrell’s dark pathos to imbue an otherwise boring character with an edge. But in truth, his work in his biggest comedies blows this out of the water (specifically Anchorman!). Ferrell needs to be recognized as the comic genius he is; I feel like he’s trying to prove something with roles like this, like he’s capable of “real” acting. Of course, he is clearly capable. There’s a saying: drama is hard, but comedy is even harder. His true talent feels somewhat squandered in Everything Must Go. Unfortunately, it’s not what Punch-Drunk Love was for Adam Sandler.
Of course, PT Anderson directed Punch-Drunk love, and perfectly created a complex, soulful dramedy for Sandler to inhabit. A man named Dan Rush directed this film. I don’t know this new director, but my bet is that if he were mixing me a drink, he’d start well enough with healthy amount of whiskey in a glass, then add some ice, then add some cola and let it sit for too long, and then, before handing me the glass, add a bunch more cola, worried that it’d be too strong. I’d prefer no cola, honestly, let alone too much. Perhaps it was the studio execs that weakened the emotional tenor of this movie. Regardless, it suffers from what many quirky indies suffer from: too much softness, predictable pacing, and safe, typical storytelling. I haven’t read the original short story, or any Raymond Carver for that matter, but I’m guessing it feels edgier and fresher than this.
