'6 Balloons' on Netflix: Well, You've Never Seen Dave Franco and Abbi Jacobson Like This Before

When you hear that Dave Franco and Broad City’s Abbi Jacobson are starring in a new Netflix movie, an idea of what that movie might be comes to your mind. Well, go ahead and take that idea, crumple it up, light it on fire, and throw it into the ocean forever, because 6 Balloons is nothing like you’re expecting it to be.

In fact, the less you know going into this movie, the better — but know that going in won’t be easy. Long before the conflict of the film is established, it’s impossible to ignore the looming feeling presented.

For those that want to brace themselves, 6 Balloons features Jacobson as Katie, a Los Angeles woman planning a surprise party for her boyfriend’s 36^th birthday, and in between picking up the food and her family members to bring back to her place for the party, she’s tasked with picking up her brother, Seth (Franco) and his toddler daughter. Should be simple enough. Except he’s a drug addict.

Seth is ready to be transported, but certainly not to a party. So while she’s making excuses about picking up the birthday cake, Katie is frantically trying to get her brother to a detox center. The film is just a tad reminiscent of Drive in the amount of time these characters spend in the car, as the story unfolds by driving down various Los Angeles streets; 6 Balloons is also urgent, but swaps any sexy, exciting feelings for a much more exhausted tone instead.

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What writer-director Marja-Lewis Ryan has crafted here is a film that actually hurts to watch — which is the whole point. 6 Balloons an all too relatable look at what we compromise and straight up give up in order to help and care for our loved ones. It’s possibly even more effectively told because of Jacobson and Franco, two friendly, familiar faces that leave their primarily comedic backgrounds behind in exchange for an on-screen sibling relationship that feels especially poignant.

You’ll find yourself actually wincing while watching Franco writhe around in pain, moaning through his sweats while trying to protect his daughter. And Jacobson will make you feel for Katie, an enabler drowning under the pressure to do what she believes in the right thing. From an unfortunately realistic yet nonetheless gross scene in a drugstore bathroom to the heartbreaking slow motion shots of Seth picking out cupcakes for his daughter, under a tinkling piano soundtrack no less, 6 Balloons certainly succeeds in displaying some pretty potent storytelling.

6 Balloons is as intentionally frustrating as it is enthralling, and we’ll certainly be pointing to this one for years to come to demonstrate both Jacobson and Franco’s dramatic competence. Sure, it’s not easy to watch, but maybe that’s exactly why you should.

Where to watch 6 Balloons

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