Why Stop Now

Get Showtimes + Tickets

  • Opened August 17, 2012 
  • 1 hr 27 min
  • R | Language throughout, and drug content

  • Parents: Common Sense Media says Iffy for 15+. More on child suitability

  • Eli Smith (Eisenberg), a piano prodigy, has a mother Penny (Leo) who despite her cheerful, loving disposition, struggles with drug addiction. On the day of his audition for a prestigious music program, Eli's mother plans to enter rehab, but a glitch in the system forces them to enlist the help of an unlikely ally, her drug dealer Sprinkles (Morgan). Circumstances conspire that turn them into a comical yet determined band of collaborators who are forced to deal with their internal demons over the course of the day. Full synopsis

  • Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Melissa Leo, Tracy Morgan, Emma Rayne Lyle, Sarah Ramos, Isiah Whitlock, Jr.
  • Director: Ron Nyswaner, Phil Dorling
  • Genres: Comedy

What's the Buzz?

I'm In
Fans say I'm In
65 fans
Read fan reviews
No
Critics say No
36 out of 100
Read critic reviews
Write your own review

Critic Reviews

88
Chicago Sun-Times
| Roger Ebert

Why Stop Now takes large themes much manhandled as movie cliches, and treats them with care and respect. It likes the characters. So did I. Read full review

67
The Playlist
| Gabe Toro

It's well-acted, certainly, though these performances belong in a film with sharper pacing, one that breathes easily. But, this directorial debut from Phil Dorling and Ron Nyswaner breathes like a frequent smoker: in fits and starts, peppered with coughs and dry heaves. Read full review

50
The A.V. Club
| Scott Tobias

Slips into the no-man's land between screwball and melodrama, squandering both the comic opportunities of an irrational search for drugs and the raw desperation of a piano prodigy who's held captive by his mother's dysfunction. Read full review

50
New York Post
| Kyle Smith

Acquires a little vigor and some fun from Tracy Morgan as a friendly drug dealer who lives with his mom. Read full review

Read more critic reviews

Offers

Photos

Jesse Eisenberg as Eli, Melissa Leo as Penny, Tracy Morgan as Sprinkles, Isiah Whitlock Jr. as Black and Emma Rayne Lyle as Nicole in "Why Stop Now."