Why Stop Now?

After viewing this I was shocked at the current rating of just 3.7/10. I'm sure it will start to climb up from that over time. I was never a fan of Jesse Eisenberg but he did a decent job with this. I admit the script could have been better and a few scenes could have used a re-shoot, but in the end the project deserves a decent review so I'm giving it one.

The story involves a struggling drug addicted mother Penny portrayed by Melissa Leo, her young daughter Nicole and her college age son Eli(Eisenberg). It begins with Eli beginning what proved to be a very ruff day for him, his plan being to drop off mom at rehab and head to a piano audition for a prestigious music school. Simple enough, but when mom finds out the rehab won't accept her because of a clean urine, her & Eli are sent off on a mission for drugs to get her a positive drug screen to get her accepted. Again the simple becomes complicated as her drug supplier Sprinkles played by Tracy Morgan is all out & Eli & his mom are sent out on a mission with Sprinkles & his brother Black to secure his resupply.

I guess it's fair to say this was a feel good movie of sorts. Don't expect to be ROTFLOL, although it does have it's funny moments. Every character involved has their flaws but overall they are decent people. Please don't dismiss this as junk from the rating, yes I doubt the film will be winning any awards & there certainly wasn't any Oscar worthy performances but it does have redeeming qualities. I was glad I watched it(and I'm normally not a fan of Eisenburg or Morgan)so I recommend giving it a shot. It is at least worthy of a 7/10

"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.

Well, there are so many movies out there you can so easily do without. That however doesn't mean that some of them are still being some good and fun ones to watch, of which this movie is a perfect example!

Most people will probably never see this movie, also mostly because this movie is being a low-key and independent production. But really, that doesn't mean that this movie isn't worth checking out. It's nothing to run out for but I see this as a perfect movie to watch on a rainy afternoon or as a way to kill some time with. It's well made, occasionally funny but above all things it's being a very light movie to watch, making this movie easy to digest and simply pleasant to watch, despite of some of its main dramatic themes.

That's probably the reason why I enjoyed watching this movie; it never gets an heavy or too serious one. It manages to find a pleasant balance between its drama and comedy elements, by mostly inserting comedic ingredients and oddball characters.

The setup of the movie is very simple, when things slowly are spiraling down for a young piano student, played by Jesse Eisenberg. He gets in more and more trouble with his family when simply trying to take his mother to a rehab clinic. It's fun to watch the situations he gets in, as he meets more and more people along his way.

It's really a movie that is mostly being carried by its characters and the actors who are portraying them. It might seem like an odd choice for Oscar nominated and winning actors such as Jesse Eisenberg and Melissa Leo to be in this little film but I can definitely see why they wanted to be in it. It's simply being a true actor's movie, in which they are truly able to shine, without having the pressure of a big budget and high expectations and Hollywood producers constantly breathing down their necks.

I'm only taking off a point on its rating because of its sudden ending. Things didn't really felt wrapped up, at least not to me it didn't. The ending pretty much came out of the blue and I wish they did something more with it.

Not a must-see in any way but it's simply a movie to have some good time with!

6/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

The three lead actors all play to their strengths: Jesse Eisenberg as the gifted prodigy who must overcome his weaknesses, Tracy Morgan as the off-kilter small town drug dealer who succumbed to his, and best, Melissa Leo as a druggie mom trying (and not trying) to keep her self and her family together. The movie kind of has a Weeds meets the Station Agent vibe to it as disparate characters are thrown together and learn to get along. The weakness might be in the writing. Some scenes feel contrived as if to move along the plot, while others are great set pieces. There is a Revolutionary War re-enactors subplot that seems thrown in to give the movie some additional quirkiness (Mr. Black's Miss Muppet line is funny). Tracy Morgan throws in some good ad-libs (when he bumps up against Leo's mom is when the movie starts to hit the mark). Eisenberg can get annoying (or maybe it's just the characters he plays). All in all a good if not great little indie movie.