It’s a silent killer, really. It’s a stigma that has yet to be fully tackled, either by science or by law enforcement. The issue of addiction is a big one and it plagues every part of the world. Whether a person is addicted to food, sex, drugs, alcohol, gambling or anything else, addiction has the power to destroy lives.
When an addiction takes over, it’s very easy for a person to completely lose themselves to it. A person becomes so dependent on something that they begin to lose sight of who and what they actually are. Many films and television shows have tackled the topic of addiction. No amount of words or pictures or television shows or movies or songs can properly capture how powerful addiction can be and how hard it can be to break. Still, the movies on this list at least attempt to showcase addiction in ways that might just help somebody. These are 5 More Movies About Addiction.
5) A Star is Born (2018)
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper did a phenomenal job in this remake of the 1976 Dolly Parton classic. Cooper stars as a Country Music singer named Jackson Maine, who discovers that a young woman named Ally (played by Gaga) can sing like nobody he has ever heard before. Jackson helps Ally build a career and while doing that, the two fall in love. Sometimes love is not enough and as Jackson’s personal issues (alcoholism, jealousy, etc.) begin to move to the forefront, Ally must watch the star fade from his eyes as it rises in her own.
4) Don Jon (2013)
Addiction isn’t limited to just illicit substances either. Porn addiction is becoming a major issue with men and women both, and it is one of the biggest causes for divorce in the United States. Very few movies have tackled this epidemic, but the 2013 film Don Jon certainly did. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as Jon Martello, a reasonably attractive single man who can bed almost any girl he wants. Sometimes he doesn’t want to however, because he is also addicted to porn.
Don meets a young woman named Barbara (played by Scarlett Johansson) who is anything but easy and Don is gonna have to work hard to gain her affections. Unfortunately for him, this means paying more attention to her and less attention to his computer.
3) Everything Must Go (2010)
Who knew that Will Ferrell could provide such a stunning portrayal of an alcoholic at the end of his rope? He did exactly that in the 2010 film Everything Must Go. After showing up to his job drunk one too many times, Nick Halsey (Ferrell) is finally fired. Adding to that is the fact that his wife has thrown him, and all of his belongings, out of the house. Instead of doing anything reasonable, Nick decides to camp out on his front lawn and sell all of his belongings.
This is a comedic movie, but it does show how quickly things can fall apart for an alcoholic. While it may not happen as fast as it did to Nick, addiction has the funny ability to take everything good in a person’s life and, metaphorically, throw it out. Everything Must Go is a reminder that not every addict or alcoholic is a homeless man sleeping on a park bench. Sometimes, it’s the person you work or live with that is desperately hanging on by a thread.
2) Get Him to the Greek (2010)
Speaking of desperate, many celebrities or individuals in the “limelight” experience a lot of desperation but, because of their status, may be afraid to speak out. In the 2010 film Get Him to the Greek, Russell Brand stars as a rock star named Aldous Snow. After years of career lowlights, a record executive named Aaron (played by Jonah Hill) pledges to get Snow to play at the legendary Greek Theater in Los Angeles, hoping it will revive his career.
Meanwhile, Snow seems to be more interested in locating heroine, alcohol, cocaine or any other illicit substance he can find to bury his ‘infant sorrow.’ Get Him to the Greek is a comedy, and it’s hilarious. But it’s also a fairly accurate portrait of what celebrity can do to an addict.
1) Beautiful Boy (2018)
Beautiful Boy is a true story based on the books written by a father and son. The son, Nicolas Sheff struggles with addiction and his father (played by Steve Carell) must sit on the sidelines, doing what he can to help before realizing that the only one who can help Nicolas is Nicolas.
Beautiful Boy is a tough film to watch, especially if you are a parent of somebody struggling with addiction. It displays the helplessness that goes along with addiction and it shows how even the best intentions can sometimes enable an addict and do more harm than good. Eventually, Nicolas gets a happy ending but for 2 hours, audiences are taken on an emotional roller coaster that shows how much addiction can affect all parties involved.
