Everything Must Go
Roadside Attractions
When Nick Halsey (Will Ferrell), a chronically relapsing alcoholic, comes home after being fired from his sales job, he discovers his wife has left him, changed all the door locks, and left all of his belongings sprawled across the lawn. Resigned to his fate, he buys some beer and sets up camp. But when the neighbors notice his bizarre behavior, his cop friend Frank Garcia (Michael Pena) advises him to get a permit for a yard sale in order to buy himself a few days and avoid being arrested. With each possession he sells, Nick comes closer to discarding the pieces of his broken life and forging a new one.
The Review: Viewers expecting the usual zany, over-the-top performance typical of a Will Ferrell performance may be confused by the more subdued, measured approach of Everything Must Go. This is a character study of a man whose life is imploding. It's a film about letting go of the past and moving forward. Fairly serious stuff, but Ferrell makes the transition seamlessly and with levity. The absurdity of a man living out his days from his front lawn naturally lends itself to many comic moments. With this level of depth and range, Will Ferrell may be our next Bill Murray.
X-Men: First Class
20th Century Fox
Like all archnemeses, Magneto (Michael Fassbender) and Doctor X (James McAvoy) were best friends until their opposing ideologies pitted them against one another. X-Men: First Class is the story of their early years, as well as an alternate telling of the Bay of Pigs Cuban missile crisis. At the brink of nuclear war, the mutants form an alliance, each discovering his own powers for the first time and finding solace in one another. But when lines are crossed, each must take a side.
The Review: As prequels go, X-Men: First Class does a fair job of giving us what we expect. How did this gang of mutants first join forces? What caused the falling out between Magneto and Doctor X? We even discover the origins of their various nicknames. But all in all, the film plays like a talkie and passionless B movie, lacking any distinctive element that grabs us. Perhaps it attempts to tell too many stories at once, or maybe the sometimes cheesy, camp-style is a poor fit for the X-Men. Nevertheless, fanboys will not be left wanting.
Submarine
The Weinstein Company
Wily fifteen-year-old Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts) pursues classmate Jordana Bevan (Yasmin Paige) in hopes of both losing his virginity before his next birthday and achieving his goal of becoming the best boyfriend in the world. But lovely Jordana is flighty and requires more attention than he expected. Besides, Oliver’s got troubles of his own. His father (Noah Taylor) sits idly by while Graham (Paddy Considine), a self-professed New Age guru, attempts to seduce his mother (Sally Hawkins), and he’s the only one who seems to care. Can Oliver save his parents’ relationship while keeping the girl of his dreams?
The Review: Submarine is the coming-of-age story of Oliver Tate, an awkward yet articulate young teen attempting to save his parents’ marriage by any means necessary, while simultaneously wooing the socks off his one true love, Jordana. He's a quirky, lovable narcissist who can't quite grasp that he's not the center of the universe and that much of the chaos that surrounds him is out of his control. Even better, the film avoids the trap of quirkiness for quirkiness' sake, using its singular voice to portray authentic teen angst and genuine pathos.
Bridesmaids
Universal
Annie’s (Kristen Wiig) life is a bad joke. Her love life stinks, she hates her job, and now her best friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph) is getting married. At least as Lillian’s maid of honor, she’ll have this one last chance to prove she can get things right. Unfortunately, that’s not how things work out. The restaurant Annie recommends gives the other bridesmaids food poisoning, she gets drunk and belligerent on their flight to Las Vegas, and just generally makes a mess of things. All of this might be bearable if she didn’t have to compete for her best friend’s affection with Helen (Rose Byrne), her worst nightmare.
The Review: The premise of a down-on-her-luck thirty something who’s asked to be her best friend's bridesmaid sounds like the setup for your typical, disposable, romantic comedy piece of fluff, but Bridesmaids is so much more. It's that rarest of birds, a film that showcases female comedic talent without betraying the way women really are. It’s got it all: the complexity of their relationships with one another, the subtle undercurrent of competitiveness, and, oh yeah, raunchiness. This is a really, really funny movie that also rings true.
