EVERYTHING MUST GO

     WILL FERRELL  REBECCA HALL  CHRISTOPHER CJ WALLACE

ON THE DAY HE LOSES HIS JOB, NICK (FERRELL) COMES HOME TO FIND HIS WIFE HAS LEFT HIM AND PUT ALL HIS STUFF ON THEIR FRONT LAWN.  NICK DECIDES TO LIVE THERE AND DURING THIS TIME HE MEETS A NEW NEIGHBOR SAMANTHA (HALL).  NICK ALSO DECIDES TO HAVE A YARD SALE, AND HIRES A NEIGHBORHOOD KID KENNY (WALLACE) TO HELP HIM OUT.
NICK IS AN ALCOHOLIC, AND THAT IS WHY HE LOSES HIS JOB AND HIS WIFE LEAVES HIM.  THIS IS A VERY DIFFERENT ROLE FOR FERRELL, MORE DRAMATIC THAN COMEDIC, AND HE DOES A VERY GOOD JOB.  GRANTED, HIS PORTRAYAL IS LOW KEY AND NOT WITH A LOT OF EMOTION, YET WHEN HE NEEDS TO SHOW EMOTION, HE DELIVERS.  I FOUND A NEW RESPECT FOR FERRELL, WHOM I HAVE NEVER REALLY LIKED, OR AT LEAST NOT LIKED THE TYPE OF CHARACTERS HE PLAYED.  AS THE NEIGHBOR, SAMANTHA PLAYS THE LOVE INTEREST, BUT SINCE SHE IS MARRIED, IT IS MORE OF A FRIENDSHIP THAT ANYTHING ELSE.  SHE AND NICK GO THROUGH THE STEPS OF THAT TYPE OF FRIENDSHIP: GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER, THE BIG FIGHT AND THEN GETTING BACK TOGETHER.  IT IS A SOLID BOND WITH A REAL SENSE OF TRUTH, EXCELLENTLY PORTRAYED BY FERRELL AND HALL.  WITH KENNY, NICK GETS THE SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY AND CARING THAT IS MISSING IN HIS LIFE.  ON THE SURFACE, THIS MAY SEEM LIKE A SIMPLE MOVIE, YET IT HAS MANY DIFFERENT LEVELS ALL TIED TO THE RECOVERY OF NICK FROM HIS DRINKING.  IT IS MUCH MORE THAN A "YARD SALE" MOVIE, IN WHICH THE "EVERYTHING" REFERS TO THE STUFF ON NICK'S LAWN TO THE DEMONS THAT DRIVE NICK TO DRINK.
RATING 3.5 out of 5