The Story:
Eli (Jesse Eisenberg) is taking his mom (Melissa Leo) to rehab so she can get clean. Unfortunately she sobered up preparing for rehab, and unless she comes back testing positive for something, she can't get in. Eli's got a very important piano recital to attend that afternoon, but he realizes if he can't get rid of his mom, his whole shot at going to a prestigious college is out the window. So he takes her to get some drugs from her local dealer, Sprinkles (Tracy Morgan). It all goes downhill from there.
I should have known when they left the question mark off the title of the movie, that it was doomed from the start. Punctuation is important!
This is one of those movies that you keep watching, wondering at any moment when the switch will flip and it takes off to be the riotous comedy that you're expecting. Then 90 minutes later you realize that the only switch that flips is the one turning off the DVD player.
Nope, it never lives up to the potential.
Eisenberg is quickly becoming another actor that simply plays himself. However, unlike say, Jonah Hill, Eisenberg is not funny. He's quirky and odd, but he's coasting off the success of Zombieland and The Social Network, and that's been over 3 years. The neurotic nebbish is getting old. He better come up with something solid or different, otherwise, we're looking at the next Jon Heder.
Really, the storyline almost seemed like a collection of "hey, wouldn't this be a cool idea..." and they really didn't have any coherent point to the story. Let's have a story about a piano player. How about a story about a mom that needs rehab. Ooo, and a girl that has a sock puppet. And a drug dealer... and...
Now I'm beginning to realize why they titled the movie Why Stop Now.
It was a writer's brainstorming session that they turned into a screenplay.
Not worth your time or effort.
Final Grade: D
Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: No chance.
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