6 Balloons

The low review for this movie is so misleading.

Yes, it could be considered underwhelming in terms of drama and action if that's what you're looking for. It isn't Trainspotting 3 and was never meant to be. It's focus was on emotion and the hold that drug use can have on a family. It was real and not pumped up for the sake of making it a more exciting movie.

The performances, music, and story were fantastic. It's worth a watch. It will suck you in and really gets across the emotions that everyone in a family goes through when a member battles addiction.

I say "surprisingly" because I usually rely on Metacritic scores, which were just OK for this one, with less than 10 reviewers being counted on for their score. But at just 74 minutes, it was so short that I wanted to watch it. And even though I knew it was a drama, I like Abbi Jacobson from "Broad City," and wanted to see what she would be like in this role. She was very good, as was Dave Franco, who I don't normally care for. And there was a real chemistry between the two of them. "6 Balloons" is intentionally uncomfortable to watch, but it was a good story, and very well-acted by everyone, but especially by Jacobson and Franco.

*Not REALLY a spoiler.* Coming from someone who has personally dealt with this issue, it is extremely true to life. I could see how a person who hasn't been on either end of the spectrum could be quick to judge films about addiction (for example, thinking "that wouldn't happen or she/he would never do that). But believe me, it does and they do. While this isn't the best film I've seen dealing with addiction, it is an amazing portrayal of how addiction is a family disease (especially w/codependence) and is so so brutal. Abbi Jacobson nailed her role, as did Dave Franco. As for the actual "film", I thought it was really well done. There's a kind of narrative throughout this that I liked a lot. I prefer a character study and good plot/story over a big budget, full of explosions and car chases movie. So if you're looking for that sort of thing you may not enjoy this as much as myself. So yes, definitely recommend:)

On the surface we think we're looking at one addict but there's really 2. Good performances and Dace Franco's junkie is real and raw - from the desperate to the euphoric. A small gem.

6 balloons is about Kathy (played by Abbi Jacobson) finding out that her brother Seth (played by Dave Franco) has relapsed in his heroin addiction and this just before organizing a birthday party for her husband. It's a believable drama about dealing with a junkie in the family. Well almost believable. You can see his suffering while going cold turkey and her suffering with the dilemma between helping her brother score drugs or bringing him to a rehabilitation center instead. The suffering is believable, but for a hardcore junkie they could have said something about the constant lying, about the stealing, and about the physical signs of deterioration due to addiction. He looked well to clean to pass as a heroin addict. The acting was good, the story also, but it could have used a bit more drama to me to make it more real. Good enough to watch once though.