Everything Must Go 2011

Tom Long, Detroit News: In the end, Everything Must Go is something of a consciously static study in sadness, both well-made and wearying. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: Rush extrapolates a narrative that is less jarring and more familiar than anything in Carver, but nonetheless true to the writer's tough, compassionate and intimately knowing apprehension of masculine defeat. Read more

Keith Uhlich, Time Out: Rush shapes Carver's fable -- a quick and resonant read -- into a flimsy hour-and-a-half tale of rebirth rather than a piercing character study. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: That lawn with its scraps of a ruined life is a setting both satirical and poignant, and Will Ferrell gives a performance of Chekhovian depth. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: Taking stock and letting go -- of superfluous things, of worn-out love -- is a strong theme. But the progression of the script is like Nick's self-help program. We're familiar with the steps. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: There's nothing terribly surprising about this movie's dramatic arc, but it's nicely executed, and Ferrell's restrained, almost gentle performance is a revelation. Read more

Noel Murray, AV Club: Rush could've approached this material in dozens of ways, but the way he chooses -- turning it into an occasionally wry, ever-earnest dramedy -- is precisely the wrong one. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: It's a genuinely unexpected performance, one of those things that you never would have predicted, but once you see it you realize it's perfect. Read more

Christy Lemire, Associated Press: No film has asked [Ferrell] to delve into the kinds of deep, dark places required of him in "Everything Must Go." And he more than rises to the challenge. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: It lives up to its title in ways its maker never intended. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Will Ferrell manages to keep this rolling, though Rush's corny narrative devices couldn't be less consistent with Carver's stubborn minimalism. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Rush respects Carver's slim, vinegar-tinged story while creating new characters and new (and somewhat artificial) situations. The results go only so far. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: Rush draws on the intense attachment we can feel for the mundane objects in our lives. For Nick, these things are talismans from a past that promised a lot more than it delivered. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Like Bill Murray and Greg Kinnear before him, this funnyman reveals serious acting chops. Read more

Eric D. Snider, Film.com: The result is a simple, unassuming movie that's grounded in reality and is every bit as likable as Ferrell himself. Read more

Kathleen Murphy, MSN Movies: Reaching for the funny as well as dramatic pathos, Ferrell is acting on a high wire. Read more

Hollywood Reporter: The film just doesn't mine enough humor or drama from this situation. Meanwhile most of the developments are wholly predictable. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: No great epiphanies, just a few days, a little perspective, nicely told. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: The unlikely combination of Will Ferrell and author Raymond Carver pays off beautifully. Read more

Anthony Lane, New Yorker: The result is a sad suburban pastoral, a strain of film you don't see much of, or not enough; it may feel somewhat stretched, and Rush's additions to Carver barely push it past ninety minutes, but anything hectic or hasty would have spoiled the mood. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: In truth, this would be rather familiar indie fare without its perfectly-cast star, who fearlessly alternates between bitter humor, aggressive desperation, and gentle helplessness. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: The big picture is famil iar -- busted middle-age man, suburban alcoholic despair -- yet the details are so finely rendered that the overall impression is potently strange. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: Mr. Ferrell holds back the comic condiments long enough to paint the portrait of a man lost in low self-esteem with nice pastels of realistic restraint. But the crossroads he faces are paved with potholes... Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: A sharply drawn study of down-and-outness that dovetails neatly, alas, with the Great Recession fallout that's raining across the land. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: I was not waiting for a punch line. I was not primed to laugh. I accepted Ferrell as Nick and, because of that, I was able to enjoy Everything Must Go on its own terms. Read more

Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com: This is a bittersweet, quietly powerful drama about a man at the end of his rope who must decide whether to start climbing or let go. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: "Everything Must Go" is not all the film it could have been, but is more worth seeing than a lot of other recent releases. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Will Ferrell delivers a performance of implosive intensity that rings true in every detail. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: This is an old-school independent film that won't make a zillion bucks or win major awards, but it's refreshingly honest, depicts the kinds of American lives not often seen on-screen and shows us a familiar star in a striking new light. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: Everything can go. Sometimes it does go. The movie tells a pertinent story about what happens next. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: This isn't Ferrell's first dramatic role; he played seriocomic leading men in Stranger Than Fiction and Woody Allen's Melinda and Melinda. But it's the first one that provides a glimpse at his possible future as a Bill Murray-style character actor. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Will Ferrell is evolving as an artist. Welcome to his blue period. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: A superstar like Ferrell could coast through disposable comedies, but "Everything Must Go" is a keeper. Read more

Mary F. Pols, TIME Magazine: Ferrell fits uncannily well into Carver country, and in this small but sturdy film, he challenges any assumption that he might be limited to comedy. Certainly this is the first time he's moved me to tears that weren't produced by hard laughter. Read more

Scott Bowles, USA Today: If he isn't careful, Will Ferrell is going to become a bona fide actor. Read more

Peter Debruge, Variety: Ferrell makes it watchable. Read more

J. Hoberman, Village Voice: I can't dismiss the desperate social realism of a movie offering the solace of a bromide found in a fortune cookie. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: Surprisingly, Ferrell underplays it nicely, neither milking Nick's misfortunes for laughs nor asking for our pity. Read more