Why Stop Now?

"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.

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/

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.

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.

"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.