For Will Ferrell,Drama Al Fresco

Will Ferrells new film,Everything Must Go,is a drama with comic overtones in which Ferrell plays an alcoholic who is having a really,really bad day

You know,I dont talk about this very much, Will Ferrell says,but I grew up in a single-parent household,and it was tough.

The comedian and his brother were raised by their mother in Irvine,California. Their father was a longtime keyboardist and saxophonist for the Righteous Brothers,and almost constantly on the road. I grew up in a single-parent household, Ferrell says. I was always cognizant of making all of our things last, he says. We didnt go without,but it was tight for our family.

Now 43,Ferrell is an A-list movie star whos worth millions. Its a safe bet that he hasnt had to scrimp and save for tennis shoes in a long,long time.

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His new film,Everything Must Go is a drama with comic overtones that is loosely based on a short story by Raymond Carver. The film casts him as Nick Halsey,an alcoholic who is fired from his sales job,comes home drunk to find that his wife has moved all of his worldly belongings out into their front yard. Halsey decides to live with his things on the front lawn in public view. So,if all Ferrells stuff were dumped out onto his lawn,how bad would that be?

I would probably be embarrassed by the sheer amount of tennis shoes I have that are still fairly new-looking, he replies. I only wear each of the pairs every once in a while.

As Halseys new life emerges,he begins to rediscover himself. An old high-school girlfriend (Laura Dern) looking to reconnect interrupts his crisis,and he also forms a close bond with his pregnant neighbour (Rebecca Hall). She helps convince Halsey to have a yard sale to start over,literally.

The film is so relevant to today,when one bad break or a series of small ones can lead to real hardship, Ferrell says. Most people arent that far from the lawn.

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One of the few ways in which Everything Must Go resembles a typical Ferrell movie is that it opens with Halsey being fired. Many of the comedians signature filmsincluding Elf (2003),The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006),Blades of Glory (2007) and The Other Guys (2010)have cast him as characters who are outrageously incompetent at their jobs. Ironically,Ferrell says,he himself has never faced such a moment.

Ive had so many situations where I should have been fired, he says. but I was just lucky. The actor and his wife,Viveca Paulin,live in the Los Angeles area with their three sons,7-year-old Magnus,4-year-old Mattias and year-old Axel,plus three dogs. So far,he says,the boys dont seem to be in awe of their movie-star father.

Im 80 per cent sure they have no idea what I do for a living, Ferrell says. My oldest is in first grade. He just knows his dad is the guy with all those tennis shoes.CINDY PEARLMAN