PodBill Just what I expected

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Tymon Sutton The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

zhongzl-kelley2014 This movie is so much like my life that I couldn't watch it with a detached manner. Eli Bloom is an outstanding high school prodigy that masters both Spanish and playing piano. He has to take care of his drug addict mother and sister that has anti-social tendencies, and tries to be admitted to a piano school at the same time. He speaks calmly and lovingly to his mother and sister, he seems to be the only one sane in the house. But Penny still tries in every way to ruin his life: refusing to go to the rehab, taking him to drug dealers, trying to check his hand while driving when knowing she can't get the car balanced, trespassing the auditorium while clapping and screaming like a lunatic......Penny is too heavy a burden for any healthy child. Yet Eli did it. He stopped the drug dealer from killing or raping his mother(although they are not corrupted in the heart anyway), he got the second chance of audition, he sent his mother into rehab, Nicole ends up in a safe environment where she gets to keep Mario and fits into the child society gradually, and Eli wins Chloe's heart with a super romantic monologue. Eli blames no one, he waves off all the obstacles and torture with humor, and he sticks to his goal and dissolve the problems with courage and delicacy beyond his age. Eli has a special position in my ranking of all the film characters.Sprinkles is a basketball star that was knocked to the bottom of society with a huge setback. Although he has to go back to his drug-dealer profession, I feel pain-stroked when I imagine the gap between his life as a drug dealer and one as a sport star. I have no idea how many nights he cries into sleep that cultivate his cruel and tough character, but I am sure that life owes him so much that the stolen trophy doesn't even start to compensate for it.

Rodrigo Amaro Funny little comedy with some meaningful dramatic moments and some self-help ideas incorporated, "Why Stop Now" has Jesse Eisenberg playing Eli, a piano prodigy who's struggling to enter into a great music school (which he can get it by performing at an audition) and many problems to solve at home, one them is to take his mother (Melissa Leo) to a rehabilitation clinic to cure her drug addiction. However, when she's rejected there due to her results came back negative from drug use, Eli will find a way to put her in there even if it takes to meet her messy drug suppliers (Tracy Morgan and Isiah Whitlock Jr.) and join them in a bizarre journey and a very unlikely friendship between everyone involved. Kind of a funny story yet a very strange proposition the directors and writers are making to us. The whole thing involving Eli trying to put his mom in the hospital in such a hurried and problematic way would work better in a dramatic piece; in here, it almost gets controversial, not comical and it slows the film a little. But it manages to stay positive and be positive, anyway. It's more about being just a barrel of laughters, it has a purpose. It's a story about taking chances, doing some changes in the game and be focused in what you really want. The characters are all driven to those things, into rebuilding the moment in which they are to become better individuals. Sounds corny but it doesn't look all that, and there's plenty of humored moments to fill in the middle of those helpful parts. I think this could be said of this film: it's a group therapy located out of a rehabilitation center and with plenty of craziness in the between "sessions". Worths giving a try more because of the stars in it than the plot itself (this story made a few years ago would be great; now it's almost too much clichéd). Morgan makes almost his usual routine in terms of comedy except he has some good dramatic scenes; Whitlock was good, given a few good lines here and there, nothing like his priceless character in "Cedar Rapids"; and the best in the show are Leo and Eisenberg, mostly Jesse, who not only is the funniest on scene (thankfully to a lot of cussing moments and his fast delivery speech which always works nicely) but also he seems to be quite a skillful piano player, executing marvelous pieces.Not amusing as it could and should be, or greatly bright in its serious issues, "Why Stop Now" is a fun picture, very handy these days when all you see is special effects thrown at you and no character development whatsoever. There's life in this. 8/10

J. Davis 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

cynthia_keegan 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.