Why Stop Now?

"You're telling me to go out and get high so that I can get into rehab?" Eli (Eisenberg) has his life worked out. He has an audition to get into an elite music school, he wants his mother (Leo) to get into rehab so she can take care of his sister without him worrying. Once she is out and sober he can leave and not worry. They only problem is that his mom's test came back clean, so they need to get her high in order for her to get into rehab...sounds easy. First off this movie is not bad and it is a comedy, but not really a laugh out loud comedy. The idea itself is pretty funny and the writing is pretty clever. Jesse Eisenberg is turning into an actor who plays the same character over and over, but he is good at playing this type of kid. The movie overall is nothing special but it is entertaining and if you are looking for a mindless movie to put in and enjoy then this is a decent choice. Overall, nothing special but still a pretty good comedy that is entertaining. I give it a B.

A college student en route to an important piano audition, has to score drugs for his mother so she can be admitted at the drug rehabilitation center with tainted urine. What a premise!!! I didn't know what to expect when I first saw this drama / comedy / action film. But, "Why stop Now" is an entertaining unpredictable fast paced film with a stellar cast from start to finish. Talk about a dysfunctional family including a younger sister who insists on talking through a sock named "Julio." These quirky characters are well written and at times surprising. The story follows Eli bloom in the span of 24 hours and excitement ensues with the countdown for his important piano audition. Eli's ability to speak Spanish, motivates drug dealers to kidnap him to negotiate with their source resulting in several hilarious scenes. Actor Jesse Eisenberg and Melissa Leo, as his troubled but big hearted mom turn in wonderful performances. Tracy Morgan is hilarious as the drug dealer. The cast of characters show multi layers to their personalities, and the audience is taken on a wild but satisfying ride.

"Why Stop Now" asks the question how far would you go to get into rehab? Eli (Jesse Eisenberg) is a smart kid, a piano prodigy, and is desperate to get his mother into rehab. His mother (Melissa Leo) is an annoying, high-strung coke-addict who has to go to rehab now or else Eli will never get to live his own life. The various plot descriptions available all get the rehab misunderstanding wrong, but it doesn't matter, it's ridiculous either way.

Presumably a comedy, the movie goes to great lengths to create a story full of comedic mishaps. Most of them, especially the rehab misunderstanding, aren't funny enough and belong in a worse movie. Because the thing is this movie could be more aptly described as a bittersweet drama-comedy and the travails that Eli has to go through are actually pretty touching.

Jesse Eisenberg is a really good actor. Prior to "The Social Network" (2010), I didn't really believe he was good (probably because of unfair superficial assumptions placed on him), but he may very well have mastered the drama-comedy balance. The script goes to extremes in manufacturing obstacles and misplaced hilarity. Melissa Leo takes on those extremes with her high-pitched self-righteous prattle and we wish she was locked in rehab at the very beginning. Tracy Morgan, surprisingly, plays his role more subdued than he has probably ever been before and the result is a drug dealer that doesn't produce any laughs.

Eisenberg is able to make a couple of scenes very funny. In one, he acts as a Spanish translator for one drug dealer to another and finds an amusing balance between his book smarts and street smarts. In a later scene, he explains the difference between a pain in the ass and a pretentious pain in the ass to two high-strung screaming sisters. I'm thankful when he raises his voice to get them to shut-up.

The mostly classical music score provides an interesting juxtaposition to the drug-fuelled comedy, but I'm not sure who "Why Stop Now" is supposed to appeal to. It doesn't have the same energy and comedy that popular releases "Horrible Bosses" and "21 Jump Street" have. But the bittersweet journey and the accomplishments by one actor in particular makes this a somewhat enjoyable and, thankfully, short ride.

'WHY STOP NOW': Four Stars (Out of Five)

Jesse Eisenberg, Melissa Leo and Tracy Morgan star in this comedy-drama film about family love and addiction. It was written and directed by freshman feature filmmakers Phil Dorling and Ron Nyswaner and is adapted from their 2008 short film 'PREDISPOSED' (which also featured Melissa Leo in the same role). It tells the story of a piano prodigy trying to get his drug dependant mother the help she needs and move on with his life. He ends up at odds with her former drug dealer who he also ends up helping. The film is well written and acted and is a surprisingly good time (despite it's lack of promotion).

Eisenberg plays Eli Bloom, a very talented piano prodigy who works as a supermarket clerk and lives with his drug addicted mother, Penny (Leo), and kid sister Nicole (Emma Rayne Lyle). Eli has been helping his mom out with Nicole and not pursued his own ambitions so when an audition to get into a well respected music conservatory comes up he jumps at the opportunity to take it and move on with his life. First he wants to get his mother the help she needs though and schedules her an appointment at a local rehab for drug abuse. Eli has a weekend drinking problem himself (which is something I can relate to) and gets trashed the night before his audition, embarrassing himself in front of the girl he likes (Sarah Ramos). His mother is rejected from the rehab center as well due to the fact that she pisses clean and has no insurance. A nurse (Jayce Bartok) informs her if she gets high and pisses dirty he can admit her so Eli and Penny go to Penny's drug dealer 'Sprinkles' (Morgan) for drugs and Eli ends up helping him translate with his supplier (Paul Calderon) in order to get the drugs they need.

The film had a limited theatrical run last August before being dumped on video with little to no publicity. Having seen the film now I have a hard time understanding why. I was expecting a poorly executed dumb comedy but instead found it extremely enjoyable. Eisenberg is one of my favorite actors and he doesn't disappoint here. He's relatable, funny and gives the film the right amount of heart that it needs. Melissa Leo is always good as well and makes a likable yet flawed mother once again here. I'm not a fan of Tracy Morgan at all and was expecting him to ruin this film but he's likable as well. In the right role, when he's not overacting, he's actually pretty good and he's funny and likable here for a change. For me the movie was nicely directed and just hit all the right notes. I probably enjoyed it more because I had such low expectations but it is a good film.

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i kept overlooking this movie because one of it's stars is tracy morgan. never thought he was funny, never! and as this film is marketed as a 'comedy' surely the morgan character would not be funny to me. turns out not to be the case. he doesn't play a funny role!

first, this story is not a comedy!!! second, it's a drama with moments of levity. third, why it is listed as comedy is a mystery to me.

the struggle of the main character 'eli' to follow his piano playing dream, control his out of control mother, and trying to bring some level of normal life to his sister is the theme of this movie. eli has his own problems, but between his domestic obligations and his academic quest he has little time to address them.

what we get is a mere look at what he must do in 24 hours if he is to remain sane and true to himself and take advantage of a great opportunity to start a career as am accomplished piano player.

this movie may have it's weak moments but i doubt anyone can clearly point them out. i became very wrapped up in the eli character and his suffering with his mother and her 'supplier' friends, dealing with 'family', and becoming attached to a girl who obviously cares for him.

this movie is well worth watching! but please do not expect a barrel of comic laughs. if you approach it expecting that you will be disappointed and end up missing a very well performed story.