1 Pleasantly surprised
Its possible that some of the viewers who were disappointed that the movie wasnt serious enough may have missed the point. You just cant compare it to movies such as When A Man Loves A Woman because 28 Days is a dramatic COMEDY. The director says so herself in the special features. But just because it partly fuctions as so doesnt mean its showing addiction as entertaining. The comedy was to show how sometimes humor can help people get through difficult situations. And it did this without making addiction seem lighthearted. There were numerous scenes in the movie that made it absolutely clear how destructive addiction can be on one's self and those around them, such as the scene where the children are telling their mother how much her using has hurt them. Not to mention portraying the desperation that could cause someone to jump out of a window, ruining a loved one's wedding, relapses, and overdose. A movie that touches on all of these certainly cant be called a fluffy film. But that it can do so and also make you laugh is something special. The only real complaint I can find is that the scenes between Sandra's character and the ball player were a bit contrived, underdeveloped, and didnt always totally connect. But other than that Bullock and the rest of the cast were quite charming in a film balanced well between seriousness and laughter.
2 A little light but still meaningful
Some movies are just fluff, while some can change lives. 28 Days falls solidly into the second category, although it is by no means it is a documentary. It is a light Hollywood treatment of a serious topic. You can take the point of view that at least maybe people who ARE addicted will see it without realizing the full import up front, and realize they need help.
We begin with Sandra Bullock's character, who is a New York lady living the high life with her boyfriend. After a night of heavy drinking, she wakes up late for her older sister's wedding. She completely destroys the wedding, crashes the wedding limo and ends up in rehab.
You get the typical transition from surly, angry newcomer to understanding, coping recovery person - learning more about her past and the characters around her along the way. Situations are extremely two dimensional and oversimplified, but to be fair, the movie only has so many minutes in which to tell the story. There are the traditional set-backs and problems, and small victories.
So where is Viggo, the 2nd billing, in all of this? If you're a Viggo fan, you spend about half the movie waiting for him. He eventually shows up as a baseball pitcher tossed into rehab to fix his drugs-and-girls habit. He's got southern charm and a laid back personality, as always. And yes, there are horses. It seems Viggo likes to be in horse-movies. In this case, the horse is one of the key "characters" - it symbolizes Sandra's ability to finally let things go and trust in life.
It's actually suprising that Viggo got second billing here. He doesn't have many lines, and he isn't even a 'romantic partner' for Sandra. In fact he is quite innocent when Sandra's boyfriend accuses Viggo of stepping into the situation. Viggo does deliver the final message to her as she leaves rehab, though - to learn how to forgive, and to cut her boyfriend loose in order to face a new world alcohol-free. Sure enough, it turns out her boyfriend is trying to drag her right into the same world, and she does better to go it alone.
The scenes with Viggo were a little contrived, but they had their own charm. Viggo had his low key country charm, but punched Sandra's boyfriend pretty quickly when things got rough. He showed Sandra how to pitch, and had her throw the ball with her eyes closed, to teach her trust. On the other hand, he was literally caught with his pants down, showing that he hadn't quite given up the sleeping around yet.
The only thing missing here in the "Viggo Standards" was another language - Viggo only gets to speak "southern American" in this film!
Interestingly, this was Viggo's last movie before the Lord of the Rings series. So he went from a very understated role, to one which made him world famous.
3 drunks on parade......
While the film was entertaining, I do not find anything in the least entertaining about the subject matter of drug addiction. In Gwen's book it was booze and Vicodin......a killer combo.....Alcoholics are often seen as hilarious, but in reality most of the time they leave a trail of tragedy not only for those who are closest to them, ie families and their friends, but they create pain in the lives of total strangers.....witness Gwen's destruction of a limo and a residence when she left her sister's wedding reception. I suppose we should be happy she did not end up on the freeway with the limo.
I found the characters in this film just too cute.....From what I have seen on COPS, they don't appear to be that cute in reality, or maybe if you have the 50K, which rehabs centers like Gwen was staying at cost, perhaps you see a different bunch of addicts.
4 Santa Cruz & Gum Wrapper Chains
Sandra Bullock's character goes to rehab. She hates it at first then sees she should be sober. Its a funny movie thats not very preachy and it has good characters. The dvd has cool features like how to make that gum wrapper chain thing, and actual scenes from Santa Cruz.
5 28 days is great
This is a fantastic film!
OK, so I only bought it because Viggo Mortensen features, but I was pleasantly surprised.
Sandra Bullock was fantastic, giving a fantastic performance as Gwen, and Viggo was hot, hot, HOT as Eddie.
This film gives a sometimes lighthearted look at rehab, but the message is touching and the actors performances are great
6 Look at my package!
I myself am not a huge fan of Sandra Bullock, but I do respect her a lot more after viewing this film. Like most guys, I was made to watch this for the sake of a woman. I thanked her right after the credits.
Bullock is forced, by court order, to under go detox after a series of bad drunk moments. She tackles a very sensitive subject head on in this film and really shows a side of her talent that is incredible. Of course, she has a superb cast behind her including Steve Buscemi and an always great Viggo Mortensen.
Trust me this is not a "chick flick". It is a funny and touching story that I never would have thought by the title. Pick it up, you can thank me later.
7 An Unappreciated Movie
Most people haven't seen this movie, which is a shame, since it's one of Sandra Bullock's best movies, and also features Viggo Mortensen (of Lord of the Rings), who is almost unrecognizable, but definitely hot, as baseball player Eddie. The other actors are wonderful too, even the minor characters shine. This movie has some great moments of humor, but also delivers some great life lessons. It's also interesting to see Sandra Bullock do drama, which she pulls off wonderfully. I would highly recommend this film to everybody.
8 One of Sandra Bullocks shining moments
We love Sandra Bullock movies in this house. This one is no exception. Sure there are a couple of cheesy moments, but for the most part, this one is probably her best, performance wise. It's not easy to play a believable addict without resorting to over-used Hollywood cliches, and she plays it well without overdoing it. A few nice examples are the sugar-addiction that most addicts experience when giving up the drug of choice. The gum-wrapper chain was also very close to the truth. That nervous "sober" energy needs to be used up somehow! I was married to an alcoholic and everything she went through looked very familiar to what my ex-husband experienced. Anyways, even if you are not familiar with addiction, this is still a very entertaining movie, as are all her other movies. I would recommend this movie, ...
9 Standard Bullock Film
If you like Sandra Bullock, you will like this movie, plain and simple. 28 DAYS is about a woman named Gwen (Sandra Bullock) who enters rehab after she gets before and during her sisters wedding, destroying a cake, and crashing a limo into someone's house. She enters rehab and there is a lot of conflict when she doesn't mingle well with the other patients, and refuses to participate in their chants or chores. Eventually she comes around, befriending others in her group. Through flashbacks we see where Gwen's problems may have come from. There is plenty of comedic moments in the movie, making it funny, but the movie also has a dramatic edge. It's a fun Bullock film fans of the actress will love.
10 Pretty damn charming
Didn't expect much from this film, but it turned out to be very interesting and not overly sentimental. Steve Buscemi has an excellent role as a veteran counselor, and of course, Sandra Bullock is appealing no matter what she does, which is some fine acting in this case. Good movie.
11 Girl, Interrupted/One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest - better.
On buying this DVD in the shops today, at a bargain price, I thought it would be pretty good, and did the whole sad eyes thing to my mum, to get her to buy it for me. On getting it home - the DVD wouldn't work. But it eventually did. Anyway! The DVD wasn't as good as I expected it to be. The only special feature I enjoyed was the Moment By Moment featurette, although it repeated quite a lot of the film. The film itself. It doesn't sound like a rehash of Girl Interrupted, but I think it was. Girl Interrupted is a modern day One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, and 28 Days is a rehab version of Girl Interrupted. Am I making sense?! The character who played Sandra Bullock's boyfriend, got on my nerves, as did the German guy, but who was also quite good. Steve Buscemi (sp?) should have got a bigger starring role in this. The bit I hated, was when I started crying when Andrea (Azura Skye) killed herself. This is a good film for Sandra Bullock fans (ie. me), but not very funny at all.
12 Comic, with quite a few moments of drama...
The basic story of the movie is as cheesy as they make them: Gwen (Sandra Bullock) loves going out with her boyfriend, having fun, drinking heavily and using other substances. After ruining her sister's wedding, during which she crashes a car into a house, Gwen is sentenced to 28 days in jail - or in rehab. Now try to remember all the cheesy stuff Hollywood had ever taught us about rehab - and that would probably describe the rest of the film.
So why the 5 starts? Because even with all this gooey cheese, the movie does have a few shining moments. One of the issues that isn't obvious in the first watching is how sheltered the addicts are in the clinic, and how tough it is for them to sometimes deal with the outside world as ex - addicts. There's a scene where a mother has to face her 2 kids in 'family sessions', and she is torn between being their mother who wants to encourage them to speak, and having to deal with her feelings about what they say. Gwen also has a tough decision when she gets back home - whether to rejoin her boyfriend and her old crowd. On another occasion, Eddie, a big baseball star, is glad to have a few minutes' reminder of his previous fame and glory by giving a couple of kids who recognized him an autograph, but is uncomfortable when they ask him where his car is (having arrived in a bus with 'Rehab Center' written all over it). Their dad tries to resolve the situation by shoo - ing them into the car, but causes Eddie even further embarresment...
Overall, this movie is reccomended to people who like Sandra Bullok and the light comedies she usually performs in.
13 Heartfelt feelings are expressed
At first, I didn't want to see this video, but I watched it with a friend. Sandra Bullock portrays an alcoholic unwilling to quit her erratic behavior. She learns who she hurts, and how, and ends up learning how to help herself with her addiction. I thought this movie showed a lot of the real life aspects of being an addict of alcohol. It's not exactly a family movie, but if you're into movies that make you think a little, you might enjoy this one.
14 Sandra Bullock fills the part well
I don't really like Sandra Bullock, personally. However, I thought that she was absolutely perfect for the role that she played. Someone reccomended that I watch this film to study the way rehab worked because I was writing a paper on the 12 steps for school. Well, the movie was pretty accurate with the way rehab is in real life and the acting was ok. However, there was something about the movie that just bored me. Maybe it's because I was watching it for research instead of for fun...who knows? I might reccomend this to someone learning about rehab or alchoholism, but not to someone who wants to see an entertaining film.
15 i love sandra bullock movies
ok im a 17 year old guy who loves chick flicks so what. this was a awesome movie. at the beggining you see sandras charector getting drunk at her sisters wedding. she ruins the wedding cake. goes to get a new one and crashes into someones porch alas she is sent to rehab. steve busciemi is in it too as the main counsellor. this was fun. my favorite charector was the german guy in the rehab.
16 Just like every Bullock film, you'll enjoy it
Most of the time, when I go see a Sandra Bullock movie, I say to myself, "I can't believe I'm going to see this." But, the fact is, she's an awesome actress. She makes any movie she's in worth seeing. Examples-- I visit my mother for the holidays a few years ago and she wants to see Miss Congeniality and it turns out I liked it a lot. Go to a friend's house and she wants to watch Hope Floats on TV and I end up glued to the screen. Put any other actress in movies like these and I probably don't like them. 28 Days is no different. I never thought Bullock would be believable as an addict but she portrayed the desperation and regrets of an addict and the struggle an addict faces for hope beautifully. Plus, the supporting characters in the movie were great. Just like every Bullock movie, there's a scene that seems a bit over-stated or goes beyond believability (who would put up with the way Bullock was acting at the wedding?) but I guess they have to do that to quickly advance the plot of the movie. This isn't an academy award winning type of movie but it's entertaining and you get a glimpse into addiction. I thought it was a very special movie but I'm sure most people who see this would end up feeling entertained.
17 Not my first choice...
I rented this movie because Sandra Bullock is my all-time fave actress and she is great in all that I have seen from her. But I have to admit, this movie was a bit of a disappointment. The storyline was pretty sloppy, and the ending wasn't really an ending. It was a bad place to leave off. It gave me an inside look of what goes on with people in rehab though, so in that way I did enjoy it. But if you're looking for solid storylines, this may not be the movie for you.
18 Better on DVD than the Theatre
This movie did not find a large audience in the theaters due to the fact that is a tough sell. The story focuses on Gwen (Sandra Bullock) an alcoholic journalist who wrecks a limousine at her sisters wedding and is sentenced to 28 days in a rehab center where she meets a wide variety of people. One might ask themselves, where is the fun in that? However in the hands of director Betty Thomas (Dr. Dolittle) a wonderful quirky comedy/drama is created. When people are uncomfortable and vulnerable it is a human tendency to deflect those feelings with humor. That is what we see here, a wide variety of people who need help with a multitude of problems. Each person uses humor in a different way to cope with what is going on in his or her lives. However, Thomas is careful not to go overboard, and she adds plenty of emotional scenes to balance out the movie. This is after all about rehab and the seriousness of addiction, and Thomas never trivializes the subject. In fact she, along with most of the cast, spent time at an actual rehab center in order to portray the experience as accurately as possible. By walking that fine line between comedy and drama, Thomas has created a group of people that you genuinely care about without pitying. In today's cynical world, that is quite a feat
...
19 Okay look at drug and alcohol addiction
The previews, at least the theatrical ones, for 28 Days are misleading. They put the emphasis on its comedic moments. The movie is actually a drama, a cautionary tale about the toll substance abuse has on one young woman. Because the character is rescued before she hits bottom or does anything she will forever regret, the humor has its place here.
Sandra Bullock is Gwen Cummings, a writer who loves to party. She lives with an Englishman named Jasper [Dominic West], who makes the perfect playmate. They drink, they go out to dinner, they drink some more, they go dancing, they go home and drink even more. When they can remember, they pop a few pills to make things even merrier. One night they light some candles to enhance a lovemaking session. In the process they nearly burn their apartment down. Things come to a head when they arrive late and higher than kites at her older sister's wedding. Gwen ruins the special day, then commandeers a limo, wrecks it and winds up in jail. The judge gives her a suspended sentence but orders her to go to a rehab center. Typical of an addict, Gwen minimizes the extent of her problem. She does not think she needs to be in the center because she believes she can give up her habit on her own. She is in for some surprises, not all of them pleasant.
I will admit that Ms. Bullock is not one of my favorite actresses. She's fairly lightweight. I've also never seen much chemistry between her and her costars when she's chosen to do romantic roles. She has her good points. Off screen, she is a great businessperson. In a movie like 28 Days, she is not afraid to be seen looking unglamorous, and this does lend credibility to her performance. She is also wise enough not to try to dominate a picture.
There are two fine supporting actresses. Elizabeth Perkins is convincing as Gwen's sister, who has spent a lifetime rescuing Gwen and is sick of it. Azura Skye is touching as Gwen's young roommate, Andrea, whose problems are quite serious.
The depiction of a rehab center here is a very Hollywood vision. Most of the patients are stereotypes of what addicts are like. Still, 28 Days is a likable movie, and it does provide a message. For more accurate portrayals of drug and alcohol addiction, I would recommend Postcards From the Edge and Girl, Interrupted. Two of the finest films on the subject are much older - The Lost Weekend [1948] and The Days of Wine and Roses [1962].
20 The movie seems as long as the title would indicate.
Sandra Bullock "vehicle" in which chemical dependency -- and the associated problems associated with it, like familial disassociaton, depression, suicidal tendencies, withdrawal, mental illness, even the "psychological roots" of the addiction -- are breezily resolved in 90 or so minutes. Of course you got your cute guys (Viggo Mortensen) and your assorted, harmless nuts for "comic relief", if you must call it that. Steve Buscemi's counselor-character threatens to become interesting, but he's sort of forgotten about pretty quickly, because Bullock must never, never, NEVER get upstaged . . . or allow anyone else to shine even for a brief moment.
21 Bullock is fantastic
This film shows what it is like to have a alcohol problem. Bullock plays an alcoholic that crashes her sister's wedding and has an accident that lands her in a rehab center. She goes through withdrawal and ends up finding a friend or two at the rehab center. Her boyfriend is also a alcoholic and does not understand her when she turns her life around. When she finally gets out she ends up helping a friend in the real world.
22 The DVD could definatly have done better...
I loved this movie, and the whole plot of it. When I purchased the DVD, I expected it to have in depth views of the psychological aspects of many of the characters, and why they were used. Basically the only really interesting thing in the entire DVD was the filming of it. The reason that I gave it 3 stars intead of 2 or even 1 is because of one feature that is hardly mentioned. How to make the bubblegum wrapper chains that she makes to quit smoking! But when it comes down to it, its a shame that they spoiled the awsome movie with such a poor DVD.
23 Been There, Identify with That
I have read a lot of negative reviews of this film and the one thing I can say is that I doubt if any of the people who wrote those reviews have ever been addicted or in rehab.
I first saw 28 Days when I was doing my own stint in a mental institution/rehab. I had attempted suicide and was struggling with chemical and sex addiction, as well as compulsive self mutilation (cutting).
The movie really spoke to me, and I have news for you, director Betty Thomas' use of humor was right on the mark. People in rehab do make use of humor, sometimes its the only thing that keeps you sane.
I also found that sharing this film with friends and family who are trying to understand what I am going through is an effective tool, because it allows them to be detached and just observe whats going on.
I think this is one of Sandra Bullock's best films. I also think that as time passes this film will garner more and more critical approval and a huge cult following of addicts and non-addicts alike.
24 Wonderful!
I loved this movie :-) I felt it gave Sandra Bullock a chance to indulge in her comedic side as well as the dramatic. Can't wait till my DVD gets here!
25 Cliche ridden--and the cliches are inaccurate!
Throughout the film, I asked myself, "What's the point?" Were the screenwriter or director trying to endorse treatment? Well, it was almost as obvious in the film as in real life that those in "rehab" had problems of which alcohol or drugs were a small part if at all. So the quality of the endorsement was dubious.
One accuracy I should add is that most in "treatment" smoke like chimneys with no complaints from the center hierarchy while often absolutely forbidden to use other necessary medications, ones, needless to say, far less dangerous or life threatening than tobacco!
When I saw Steve Buscemi, taken a role because it may have made him a few bucks. But he was kind of funny, though his role wasn't intentionally that way. He was typical of center "directors," whining constantly in every 12-step cliche in the book as to how "we" are all alike. I have this problem, so you have the same. "That's the way life is." Bullock acted well in rejecting that nonsense.
The romantic portion of the story was predictible. You know, Bullock's boyfriend drinks too much, is a real social animal. While in "treatment" she falls to a degree for a baseball star also in treatment who can't keep his pants on. The two guys meet and get into a fight. Then the baseball star it seems STILL can't keep 'em on, and Bullock witnesses that. That was a theme not developed at all beyond the depth of a romance novel.
Overall, I'd say the screenwriter and/or director took advantage of a fad of "treatment," something to which conventional wisdom suggests more of us should have and developed a story around it. And Bullock's character took the unfortunate step of buying into what the "treatment" honchoes told her. A person as intelligent as her character seemed to be wouldn't have bought into it.
There were new actors, and, again, some of the story is witty, so I don't totally reject the film. But take it from someone who knows: "treatment" doesn't work like that. If anyone is looking for a model of "treatment" to send a loved one, don't use this film as that model. Go to critics of the "treatment" regime, and ask them what it did for them.
26 If you like Sandra Bullock, take a look at it...
Gwen (Sandra Bullock) enters rehab (for alcohol), court ordered (either rehab or jail) after destroying part of a house, after she steals a limo from her sister's wedding, after Gwen pretty much ruins her sister's wedding. Gwen eventually admits up to a drinking problem while in the rehab center. And eventually becomes 'free' of the addiction to alcohol, even while her boyfriend visits and instigates use of alcohol (as in...not being supportive). A good movie all around.
As far as the DVD features are concerned...I loved the 'making of...'. I didn't like the Santa Cruz soap (that is featured in the movie). Too cheezy for me to laugh at. But if you like Sandra Bullock, I suggest picking up the movie and other than the 'the making of...', pick up the VHS as the Santa Cruz is nothing special.
27 are you joking hollywood?
i saw this film & i could'nt believe that i wasted a couple hours of my time on this trash i'm sorry but they should have throwin it away . personally if they're trying to make a sad story funny, did'nt work what a bomb i give it a zero once again need i say more . i enjoy miss bullock films but please steer clear of this one not worth your time or money. i recommended speed 2, the net & others. practical magic & forces of nature are bombs also.
28 A look at the lighter side of rehab...
Don't get me wrong -- I really enjoyed this film. There is the edginess of reality to the recovery angle. I was able to go along with this humorous and emotional exploration of a very serious subject, but had some trouble with the hollywoodization of such (if there is such a word !!) It seemed to have the sense of coming from secondhand experience, not from someone who had "been there.." I found the film life affirming and a gussied up version of what the struggles of addiction and recovery are about, and therefore worthwhile. For a more in-depth view, visit a couple of Al-Anon meetings.
29 SANDRA BULLOCK SHINES
This movie is funny, smart, and well acted. Sandra Bullock is one of my favorite actresses, she just has this likability that's hard to resist, lol. Even though this movie has a lot of humor, it gives you a serious glance inside the life of an alcholic. I loved the acting, the story, and the smart dialogue. See this movie, it rocks!!
30 Very Good Movie
I wasn't sure how much I would like this movie about rehab, but I was pleasantly surprised. I thought Sandra did great in this movie. It was a feel-good movie.
31 overly slick but occasionally enjoyable
**1/2 There comes a time in the career of every performer identified mainly with lightweight romantic comedy roles to take the plunge into more serious acting challenges - in the hopes that we will see beyond his or her pretty face and into the heart of the great actor that resides within. And strangely enough, many of these actors and actresses choose the same exact route to accomplish this feat - that of portraying a person heavily addicted to drugs and/or alcohol. This was the case with, for instance, Meg Ryan in "When a Man Loves a Woman" and Michael J. Fox in "Bright Lights, Big City" to name just a few. Now we have Sandra Bullock attempting to stretch her thespian muscles by portraying an alcoholic in "28 Days," the tale of a young woman's experiences in a detox center located in a bucolic suburb of New York City.
One of the initial problems with such films is that casting such well-known faces in these parts automatically ends up conferring a bit too much glamour on the situation. And "28 Days" is no exception. It's hard to accept Bullock as a particularly credible person in this role. Still, the movie is generally watchable because it manages to make the people and the rituals at the center seem both utterly addled and emotionally endearing all at the same time. When Bullock - feisty, close-minded, smug in her sense of superiority - first arrives after being ordered to the center as a part of her probation, we are as appalled as she is by the touch-feely nature of what is going on there. If anything could keep one from becoming an addict, the threat of being sent to a place like this would just about do it. But then, as the various characters begin to open up and reveal themselves as true hurting individuals, we, like the Bullock character, begin to be won over. But even these people aren't given enough screen time to really grow into fully-rounded, complex characters in their own right.
The film never entirely breaks out of its TV-movie formula. We are treated to all the standard plot devices common to the genre: the inevitable overdose by one of the patients, romantic interludes with a professional baseball player, the clashes between the latter and Bullock's troublemaking boyfriend. One of the problems with glossy studies of addiction such as this one is that, more often than not, we are led to believe that the "cure" is a permanent one - not necessarily because the film shows us that (in fact, it makes a few nods in the direction of showing that it ISN'T always permanent) but because the two-hour time frame and the audience demand for a hopeful, upbeat ending inadvertently leave us with that impression. To be fair to the film, it doesn't tie up all the loose ends into a nice pretty package. We are given cause for hope, but the open-ended nature of the final scenes suggests properly that the struggle will go on.
"28 Days" is a film with its heart in the right place. In fact our own hearts go out to it, to Ms. Bullock, to all those involved in its making. We realize that it is difficult to make a film that, on the one hand, yearns to be an uncompromising study of a subject as gritty as this one, yet, on the other, feels the need to appeal to as wide a mass audience as possible. The result, unfortunately, is a film that is too lightweight to be taken seriously, too "entertaining" to be real.
32 Too Predictable
Sandra Bullock gets into a car accident, is sentenced to 28 days in rehab, goes to rehab, everyone hates her, she might get kicked out, then everyone loves her and she leaves rehab all happy and her problems are long gone. This formula is so predictable, yet so wrong. This movie tries to add a few laughs with a gay character, but I don't think this is the type of movie that should be generating any kind of laughs. I didn't like this movie from the start and ended up laughing at it instead of walking away from it knowing that I've learned something.
33 Excellent movie!
I don't recall this movie being released in Australian cinemas, so seeing it on DVD was a first for me. I'm fast becoming a big Sandra Bullock fan because she is as comfortable with drama as she is with comedy. It's rare that I get to have a good laugh during a movie AND shed a tear (or three!) This is a really enjoyable movie, shot at some beautiful loactions with a nice soundtrack as well. Highly recommended.
34 BORING
Although Sandra Bullock does a pretty good job considering her limitations as an actress, I found this film essentially boring. The romance angle is unconvincing as well as are the meant to be colorful members of her AA froup. It's been a while since we've had a propoganda vehicle for AA, e.g., "I'll Cry Tomorrow," "Days of Wine and Roses," so to me, the picture seem dated in that sense. AA is not as successul as motion pictures would have us believe. although it surely is better than nothing.
35 A disservice to people in recovery!
Hollywood films have long been the locus both of expression of asocial emotions and their discipline, rather than their genuine taming. This was identified in the case of TV in the 1950s by Theodore Adorno who watched a woman in a "quality" USA program (probably one written for Playhouse Ninety) desire personal liberation, only to realize at the finish that her liberation consisted of...the conventions. Adorno saw a lack of movement found in Jerry Seinfeld's cynicism about his friends' very ability to have meaningful lives, and this lack of movement exists in 28 Days.
28 Days is a disservice to people in recovery from alcohol and drugs. Because of its deep structure it may itself cause people to relapse.
The most amusing part is the first five minutes in which Ms Bullock (an appealing *gamin* with an attractive vulnerability) trashes the wedding of her uptight sister in the company of her drunken boyfriend (apparently an Aussie, Brit or Kiwi who is later punched-out in good old Americano style by a more sober chap.)
Like old Three Stooges comedies in which the Republican dowager gets a pie in her face as a protest of real inequality (for in 28 Days, a dowager gets the canapes on her derriere), 28 Days cynically exploits real, if buried anger, against a classist binarism in which one is EITHER a free spirit, but economically disadvantaged, OR a sober resident in an "upscale" community.
This is hegemonic for it equates spiritual recovery, and salvation itself, with a nice car and house as trashed by one's daemonic, but salvageable, kid sister.
Missing is the very possibility that alcohol and drugs enforce for material reasons (known as "protecting one's supply") a great deal of highly conventional behavior, and that recovery can involve downward mobility.
So attractive is the liberation of the first five minutes that many people in recovery may turn off the new DVD player after Ms Bullock trashes the wedding, go to the nearest bar, put The Clash on the juke-box, and get well and truly wasted.
Recovery is not a matter of images but of texts. It is no accident that recovering people talk amongst themselves and read books, rather than watch videos. As the movie cleverly portrays, the very chemical effect of alcohol, its destruction of short-term memory, causes life to degenerate into freeze frames, at first snapshots of liberation, later on, of horror.
Anne Wilson Schaef has called aspects of our society, as replicated by the Hollywood dream factory, addictive, and the best movie about alcoholism (The Lost Weekend) failed at the last minute; for in the novel on which The Lost Weekend was based, the hero does NOT recover, whereas Ray Milland appears to. 28 Days is in the tradition of this dishonesty and in my (layman's) opinion, anybody who watches this film in early recovery is in danger of a slip. People without addictive tendencies and people with a year of sobriety will be mildly diverted by Sandra's adventures, even in the rather boring recovery home (a home which, it should be noted, is completely unavailable to most addicts and alcoholics.)
36 AN ENTERTAINING MOVIE WITH NO RESTRICTIONS
This is a very entertaining and touching movie, I enjoyed it with my family! Sandra Bullock at her best and Betty Thomas show us that a movie about drunks and alcohol doesn't need to be rated 'R'.
37 absolutely amazing!!!
I'm from the UK and every review i read for this film gave really bad review but i was pleasantly surprised. Sandra Bullock pulls of this part brillantly and this film touched me in a big way. With the comedy of Gerhardt it made me laugh but also made me cry at the end. i totally recommend this movie u wont be disappointed
38 Much better than I thought it would be. A big surprise!
28 Days
Score: 72/100
Boy, it has been some time since Sandra Bullock has made a good movie. Speed 2: Cruise Control and Forces With Nature were both serious flops with critics around the globe, and she hasn't been very well respected for a long time. But, this will be the film that puts her on track. 28 Days is a well-made and thought-provoking film that is much better than it looks, and it deserves a wide audience.
Gwen Cummings (Sandra Bullock) is a New York writer who just can't say no to drink or drugs. After crashing her sister's wedding car and ruining her wedding cake, Gwen is ordered into a rehabilitation centre, where she spends the next 28 days. At first she doesn't have much respect for the centre and tries to escape, but as her toxic levels come down, she gradually realises that maybe she can turn her life around.
The plot may sound lousy, but it isn't. It deals with human emotions properly and in a moving way, and 28 Days is able to put a smile on your lips and make tears come out of your eyes. Bullock is a stunner in this film, she is perfectly cast as Gwen, while Steve Buscemi is as brilliant as he always is, no doubt about that. Azura Skye, who co-stars as a friend of Gwen's, lights up the screen in an ignored performance which deserves praise. Susannah Grant, scriptwriter, seems to have a thing for making good actresses come back to their great standards. In the same year of release as 28 Days, Grant wrote Erin Brockovich, a brilliant legal drama that made Julia Robert's get the career-best nod. Now she can fix Sandra Bullock, and this could very well be Bullock's best film.
It has it's problems, some major ones, but 28 Days remains a worthy watch for all ages.
39 Pretty Good
This was a rental, and it was a pleasant surprise, as this film seemed to have not done too well at the box office. Sandra Bullock proves why she's one of Hollywood's top actresses -- she can act and people like her! She always seems to saturate her performances with sincerity, inviting audiences to relate to her characters, and it's no exception with Gwen. She's convincing and humourous as the alcoholic-in-denial, and we watch her come to terms with her addiction as the film progresses. Azura Skye also turns in a strong and sympathising performance as the drug addict who befriends Gwen. Viggo Mortensen, who was wonderful in A Perfect Murder, turns in a good performance; unfortunately, his character, Eddie, is underdeveloped, and one wonders why he's in the film to begin with. But despite that, the film is pleasant. It's not earth-shattering or a must-see (the ending is rather predictable), but it's a lot better than what else is on Blockbuster's shelves.
40 Great acting, decent delivery
The movie starts out with an interesting setup. Gwen Cummings (Sandra Bullock) is a young woman with an obvious alcohol problem. After a night of drinking, she wakes up late to her sister's wedding. She spends the entire time going to the wedding drinking and ultimate ruins her sisters wedding by falling in the cake and then wrecking the limo going to get another one. For her actions, she is given a choice of rehab or jail. She chooses rehab.
Interesting film with some great acting. However, the plot twists are a bit contrived. At first, she is just doing time, but, in a moment of insanity realizes that she needs help and begs to stay.
From then on, her turnaround, from doing time to cooperative inmate, is almost on the verge of miraculous. And, this is where certain parts of the plot stop working and break the illusion created by an otherwise excellent film. This is not all that bad, but a bit more work on the script, and this could have been an award winner.
If you have ever read Syd Field's book Screenplay, you can see the plot devices coming out. From lifting a horse's hoof to possible rehab romance, this movie is formula all the way.
But, it works. Somehow, through all of the veneer created, a touching story shines through. If you decide to see this one, don't expect another Sandra Bullock comedy. While there are some funny moments, the tragedy of the characters' problems overshadows most of the humor.
41 Forgetable Film
My actual rating for this film would be 2.5 stars.
The film was based on a woman who was sentenced to an Addictions Center by the Court. The most talented actor in the film, Steve Buscemi had a comparitively small roll. You tend to want to compare it to Michael Keaton's 'Clean and Sober', but in reality there is no comparison which is disappointing. All in all a very forgetable film. The Theatrical trailers had little to offer as far as insight. Just Actors and Directors patting each other on the back.
If you want to see a film that explores this type of content with a little more realism and understanding of a complex subject, purchase Clean & Sober.
42 Very Good...
Well my girlfriend twisted my arm for ever to watch this movie. I finally gave in and I was VERY mich suprised. It was a really nice decent movie, I recommend it. You just might earn some brownie points with your girlfriend.
43 close, but no martini...
All in all, this movie had some interesting insights into the world of acoholism, which I think were candid, honest and well-thought-through. It had all the markings of a great movie - solid cast, interesting premise... but it really didn't live up to its promise as a "great" movie.
Essentially, the movie fizzles at the end. It takes, the safe, predictable road. I don't think a recovering alcoholic really gets to wrap up conflicts with pretty little ribbns like that. And c'mon: An alcoholic who doesn't care about anybody and doesn't think she has a problem goes into rehab? You already know what's going to happen! And to use Steve Buscemi (I'm a huge fan!) in such an uninteresting way (re: a rather boring guidance counselor) is a travesty. Mr. Buscemi must have been returning a favor by doing this one.
In short, it's probably worth watching if you're a Sandra Bullock fan, but don't expect to be blown away.
44 Good star turn by Sandra Bullock
I didn't want to see "28 Days" in which Sandra Bullock plays a writer with a pill and booze problem sentenced to rehab. Much of the film - in which Bullock is the only really recognizable face - seems to be what I expected, but I enjoyed it despite myself. Surviving what could have been a fatal DWI accident, Gwen is sentenced to Rehab in some upstate facility that seems pretty nice to anybody not in immediate need of chemical stimulation. Cigarettes are about the closest items of sin permitted, and even they're subject to war-time rations.
The directors keep the focus on Gwen, Sandra's charachter, but they compensate by restraining the urge to reduce her fellow patients into one-note charachters good only for comic relief. Some of the best charachters seem both funny and sad at the same time. Gwen's need for perpetual stimulation stem, not suprisingly, from her mother, a manic alcoholic in her own day. Flashback scenes in which a younger Gwen and Mom sled down snowy hills would seem hysterical, that is until the moment we see the oncoming cars.
Gwen's and her friends' addictions come in all different categories - though most seem to share shameless addictions to simple things like "Santa Cruz", a vile soap opera, fatalism and a brooding unwillingness to admit their problems. The challenge of the story is getting past the obvious addictions to the ones that really make these charachters weaker people but stronger charachters. For Gwen, the addiction is to anything that keeps the world from slowing down enough to reveal its bleakness. When Gwen's mother took a break from the party, she could be found napping on the kitchen floor, dreaming of a liver that worked. Robbed of her pills and her beer, Gwen handles the slowdown of withdrawl badly. Breaking her leg, Gwen wakes in the Clinic's infirmary, looking at her own reflection as if it were a stranger's - she looks ugly! If they could hand out Oscar's for the best split second of self-realization, Bullock would win for that moment alone.
45 Scared Straight
You won't want to go into rehab after you see this movie. The girl next door is a boozer and she breaks her sister's heart. She learns that her friends are her fatal flaw and her character is all that can save her. I've never been to rehab but I know the power of faith and the value of relationships with quality people. Weak people tend to become the kind of people they hang around with. This movie trys to say that change can only come from within if it is supported externally. It's too bad they don't get into the value of character.
46 AN ACCURATE PORTRAYAL
I don't know if anyone who hasn't been through rehab should be reviewing this movie. Anyone who has been through it knows that there is as much laughter as there is pain. And for those of you who object to the "stereotypical" characters, I can tell you that there is every kind of person imaginable in rehab. There were many painful and dramatic scenes here that balanced out the "zany" ones. I've been there, and although my facility wasn't quite as nice as this one, this movie was very real to me.
47 Moving, deep, excellent
Sandra Bullock, with a few exceptions, has a tendency to star in movies that don't quite make it. And this is one of them.
BUT, I was immediately and strangely moved by the story. Maybe I was just in the right mood at the time. I cannot remotely identify with the situation - alcohol and drug addict confined in rehab - and cannot vouch for the reality of what takes place. But it seemed real, even that I might think and act like her in that situation. Her feelings felt like feelings I have had.
To her character, Gwen, the counselors and her fellow addicts in in-patient rehab are weird. I thought so, too. She complains about "romper room philosophy" attempting to address very real, adult struggles. I detested it as well. She thinks her family doesn't understand. They don't. She resents being treated like a child by the employees. I would, too. But if this is an example, addicts need to be treated like adults with childish behaviors. I wondered if such an artificial setting could help an addict overcome a problem that might very well still exist in the "real world."
By the end of the movie, Gwen is on a path that can lead to sobriety, almost, it seems, in spite of these weird people and inane platitudes. I'm not even sure what the turning point for her was, and perhaps there was no single turning point. It isn't usually that easy. She has learned to care about the people and care for their struggles, and thus care for her own. She begins to see beyond the simplistic chants into truths about her lovability, capability, and strength. She has turned her back on her destructive past and embraced a sober future that seems possible and desirable.
No excuses for addiction are proffered in this film, even though the presumed origin of the character's addiction is presented. It is demonstrated that a person in the same situation did not resort to drugs and alcohol to drift through life. The movie's premise is very simple: one person's handling of her self-destruction and renewal.
Kudos and thanks for a great movie.
48 Only if you like Sandra Bullock
FUN DVD extras! If you are a big Sandra Bullock fan you're going to see this movie no matter what and you'll like it. This is a tame story about a woman's stay in rehab. It isn't as depressing as you might expect a story about recovery to be, but you don't get too invested in the characters either. It's light-hearted and sends the message that you should take care of yourself and the people you care about.
An extra star for the special features on the DVD: diagrams of how to make a gum-wrapper necklace and a number of episodes of a fake soap opera that the characters in the movie watch.
49 Enjoyable but Predictable
I liked this movie, I did. Sandra Bullock is radient and fun as a drunk, rotten and grumpy in rehab, and loving and sweet as she starts to "figure it all out." The movie touches on the seriousness of alcoholism, but allows the comedic aspects to shine through. I would have liked to have seen Gwen's (Bullock) transition fleshed out more-- we get flashbacks instead of actual discovery-- and some of the characters are *too* stereotypical. And while the plotlines are wrapped up predictably, I wouldn't have wanted anything to ruin the good feeling I had that everything would be okay for this woman that I had come to like.
50 Funny and sensitive - Sandra shines again.
Sandra Bullock is known for her roles as a cute and light-hearted but often troubled woman, always having to overcome an obstacle. "28 Days" is another of these films with a role that seems made just for her, and she plays it very well. This is the story of a woman ("Gwen") driven to alcoholism and then drug addiction because of her unstable childhood with a mother who died early from the same addictions, a father who was never there, and a perfect and overacheiving sister she could never live up to. To avoid going to jail, "Gwen", as Sandra's character in the movie is called, has to spend 28 days at a rehabilitation clinic. I only gave this movie four stars because certain aspects of it became annoying to me: the overdramatic depiction of the cheesy rehabiliation clinic and the residents there, the plot's fascination with a fictional soap opera, Santa Cruz, and an underdeveloped and quite irrelevant subplot of a mini-relationship forming between Gwen and a famous baseball player at the clinic. However, the rest of the movie was great. The plot, which one would expect to be hackneyed because of all the movies and books dealing with the subjects of alcoholism, drug addiction, and recovery, is pretty fast-paced and fresh. Sandra acts the part very well, and the struggle of recovery is portrayed fairly well also. I found myself rooting for the characters to beat the odds and finally kick their addictions, and of course for Sandra to turn out all right as well. The subject of this film is a dreary one, but there are humourous parts injected at just the right times to keep it from becoming too heavy and depressing. If you like Sandra Bullock, you will adore her in "28 Days"!
51 Besides the fluff, very real
I say the fluff of the film is the portrayal of the rehab clinic - there is no rehab clinic like that anywhere that I know of at all. However, the portrayal of the situation and the people, especially the humor AND the seriousness IS realistic. Sandra is a true recovering addict, with the downfalls and the wit.
52 the bell jar meets girl interrupted
'28 days' has a good mix of humour, song, seriousness and fun which makes it an easier movie to watch than 'girl, interrupted.'
like the classic 'the bell jar' and, more recently, 'girl interrupted', '28 days' explores the creative & sensitive mind of women who refuse to live life by any normal rules.
as a writer, i am always interested in watching movies about writers, but sandra bullock's creative outlet in this movie is more verbal and physical than written. i would have liked to have seen her character creating something out of the madness that is alcoholism. instead, she's almost a bystander in her treatment program and we watch as she fights herself in a battle against alcohol addiction.
the supporting characters are what makes this movie great, including Loudon Wainwright III as the "guitar man." his songs add a deeper, serious touch to this film and are, as always, fabulous. if you're interested in hearing more from Loudon, check out 'career moves' asin:... be sure to see him in concert the next time he visits your city -- you'll laugh and you'll cry. he's the greatest.
sandra bullock is luminous in this picture and i quite enjoyed watching it. the flashback scenes to her childhood give more insight into her character than anything else in the film. i will definitely recommend this one to friends.
53 A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY
28 DAYS is another entry in this new Hollywood genre : the clinic movie. After a dozen movies, clichˇs and stereotypes are already there so don't expect the screenplay to be original. You won't learn a thing about the therapies developed in the american rehab centers but you will have a great time with the performance of Sandra Bullock and the whole cast. I also admit that the presence of Steve Buscemi would save any movies from total oblivion. He is silently becoming the best american actor in activity.
I also liked a lot director Betty Thomas's sense of humor which was already patent in PRIVATE PARTS. Alan Tudyk's performance as well as the episodes of the soap opera Santa Cruz could be the only reasons to rent 28 DAYS if you're a Bullockphobic.
No theatrical trailer, but english subtitles, a commentary and more hilarious episodes of Santa Cruz, definitively my favorite soap.
A DVD to rent.
54 Sandra's great, the movie isn't
Sandra Bullock gives an outstanding performance in this story about alcohol and drug rehabilitation. Unfortunately, the presentation of the story was lacking and it detracted from the film's overall effect. Director Betty Thomas and writer Suzannah Grant (who scored with the screenplay of "Erin Brockovich") can't seem to decide whether they want the film to be a zany comedy or a serious drama. They seem to have been aiming for a bittersweet comedy, but they missed the mark. They trivialized the good dramatic elements of the story with numerous inane scenes, many of which were more ridiculous than funny. The film also suffers from an excess of clichˇs, some overemphasized to the point of being moronic. It is difficult to take much of the story seriously with all the foolishness that is continually erupting. The result of this directorial miscalculation was that the film was hammered at the box office, with the gross ticket sales failing even to match production costs. That's a pity because a lot of people missed an excellent dramatic performance.
Sandra Bullock was a ray of sunshine that burst forth from this otherwise jumbled mess. Sandra simply out-acted and outclassed the entire cast and did a terrific job despite the "nutty institution" approach. This is something of a departure from her accustomed romantic comedy roles. She had a chance to flex her dramatic acting muscles here, portraying a very confused and distraught character. She went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows and handled the full range of emotions beautifully. It was one of the most complete dramatic performances I have seen from her to date.
I rated this film a 6/10 on the strength of Bullock's portrayal. Without her, it would have been about a 3/10. If the topic had been treated more seriously, with sensitivity to the nuances of drug rehabilitation rather than having a good laugh at their expense, it would have been far more powerful and effective.
55 Sandra Bullock Gives a Terrific Performance
Sandra Bullock spends a month in rehab after a drunk driving incident. Surprisingly entertaining and engrossing movie has a lot of laughs (maybe too many for the subject matter) and some great lines. Bullock gives a terrific performance as a bright but troubled writer caught up in a party crowd. Rarely goes for the predictable.
56 Hardly new or inspiring.
The biggest accomplishment was being able to skirt the real issues of drug dependence in a film about drug dependence. Just think, that in 28 days you too can become a happy, well adjusted, strong, and clean person! Some of us know better.
57 A breakout performance by Sandra Bullock.
Sandra Bullock delivers a powerful performance in this film as Gwen, an alcoholic, pill popping journalist. She is introduced as she arrives at her sister's wedding 45 minutes late and drunk. We begin to see her as other people see her: inconsiderate, rude, and an embarassment. After ruining the wedding cake, stealing a limo, and plowing into a house, she is sentenced to 28 days in a rehab clinic.
It is here that we are slowly exposed to the "real" Gwen, the one that is hidden under the haze of alcohol and drugs. Sandra Bullock gives the performance of her career in showing Gwen slowly realizing that she needs help and that, if she only reaches out to those around her (not only her co-rehabs, but her family as well), they will be glad to help her. We see her trying to hold onto her independence while, at the same time, trying to establish a link with those around her. This performance is only aided by the great supporting cast. None of the supporting characters are thoroughly fleshed out, but the actors portraying them give us enough of a glimpse that their presence only makes the film stronger.
This is a definite must see drama. If you're a Sandra Bullock fan, you should love this movie. I'll be disappointed if she doesn't get nominated for an Oscar in this role.
58 Funny, Sad, Touching, Excellent
This film has it all, it is funny, it is sad, it teaches a lesson but makes it barable with a great and hilarious cast. Its a movie about the sad but true lessons we learn in life as we meet different people and make or break the friendships that may last forever or just 28 days. I must say i was a little dissapointed in the ending, but the scene with the soap opra guy really loosened everyone up with one last laugh. Excellent job by Sandra Bullock, the guy playing her boyfriend could have used a bit more realism, are some people really that stupid? I guess I shouldnt ask that. This movie makes an instant classic, you can watch it with anyone and everyone and not worry about what youll see or hear, well, except every time the elevator opens, just put your hand over the kids eyes like on the rating poster for pg-13 movies. Some scenes may be a bit much for kids under 13 hince the fact its pg-13 so be ware (dont say I didnt warn you). Anyway, I plan on buying this on DVD very soon, I cant wait to play with all the cool extras.
59 28 Days comes up short...
First off I'd like to say that I'm a very big fan of Sandra Bullock. Her quirky nature and cute antics usually brings life into a movie. HOWEVER, 28 Days was absolutely terrible. It's a shame that Sandra couldn't turn this movie around, but it's not her fault. The plot is lacking, and full of holes, and the characters in the film have absolutely no depth. The movie had very few comical scenes, and the dramatic sequences were drawn out. This movie is very predictable, a 5 year old can figure this out. If you don't believe me, go rent the movie, and when you try to figure out why you wasted 2 hours of your life on this lackadaisical film, you can e-mail me and tell me that I was right. 1 star for this movie, and if there was no Sandra Bullock, this movie wouldn't even get 1/2 a star.
60 outstanding and inspiring!
I do not have much to say but that this is a very inspring, funny, and touching film all rolled up in a perfect movie package. It really zones in on the downside to instant gratification and the upside to actually living life rather than avoiding it. I liked it so much I watched it two times in a row. And by the way....that blond german gay guy in the rehab with her steels the spotlight in several scenes..he is hilarious!
61 Moving story
28 days takes you into the world of substance abuse rehabilitation, when Gwen is sentenced to jail time or 28 days of rehab for driving drunk and crashing into a house. We see Gwen struggle through the stages of rehabilitation from resistance (when she first arrives) to slow acceptance of her situation and then to self-realization of her addiction and recuperation. The scenes are funny, warm and moving all at the same time. Sandra Bullock did an excellent job portraying her character of Gwen!
62 Good film, great extras
The breezy rehab story of Gwen Cummings(Sandra Bullock) and her 28 days towards the road to recovery isn't a perfect film by any stretch of the imagination, but it's definitely enjoyable.The key points to the DVD that may warrant you buying it are Betty Thomas's directors commentary, three character testimonials that were cut from the final film, instructions on how to make a gum wrapper chain like the fiesty heroine,theatrical trailers,and talent files. But the best thing, and possibly worth the price of the rest of the disc, is the hilarious 26 minutes of "lost episodes" of the fictional soap "Santa Cruz" that everyone at the rehab center watches.That alone is almost as funny as the movie, with the actors playing their scenes with intense seriousness amid ridiculous plot situations even more far fetched than the average soap.
63 Best Sandra Bullock performance since Practical Magic!
This is the best Sandra Bullock performance I have ever seen, besides Practical Magic. It was a wonderful movie full of laughs and tears and it really shows Sandra at her best. She plays an alcohalic perscription drug abuser that is nearly forced to come clean, ordered by the judge. She is faced with the challenges of keeping her mind straight and fighting the temptations to drink and abuse pain killers. She strives to over come her other weakness, her partying boyfriend. It shows how far she will go to get what is forbidden and how far she will go to stop. This was a wonderful, heart warming movie with so many funny parts. To me, her second best movie she has ever made.
64 Sandra can play ANYTHING well
Sandra Bullock is the industry's favorite girl next door, much to her own well-reported chagrin. But there is just something about her that exudes "next-door" charm, whether or not she supports the label's overuse. Maybe it's because she's such a gem of a person, especially compared to the coldness of many of today's big stars.
So when you are about to see this film you will anticipate that it be light-hearted, not serious, in other-words, totally Sandra. But the only thing light-hearted about the movie are the circumstances several of the supporting cast members get themselves into. Sandra plays this alcoholic with all of the angst she's got. And it's a heck of a lot more than anyone would have pegged her for.
So is she depressing to watch like this? Yes and no. Depressing because, based on those nasty preconceptions us lazy viewers have, you're waiting for her to jump out and say "Just kidding!" throughout the movie - her usual style - and, to everyone's surprise, she really doesn't. She gives every ounce of credibility and intensity to a role that many would like to write off simply b/c it is too hard to change one's preconceptions.
I am so excited when I stumble upon a performance, such as this one, that allows me to deepen my respect for an actor. Sandra has deepened everyone's respect with this role. She is a consummate professional actress: She plays every role as if it were herself and only herself on the screen.
And hey, even if it IS only acting, she fooled me . . .
65 Sandra finaly changed her "Girl-next-Door"-Image!
Sandra is indead talented,she just never got the perfect role to show it to us! Well here it is! And she did dammn good work! Her best film since "Practical Magic" with a serious theme but also funny in a way! At her side the terrific good acting "Elizabeth Perkins" who playes Sandy's Sister! This picture contens some very imotional scenes and some terrible funny ones! I cant wait to hold this DVD in my hands! A must see!
66 Sandra Bullock once again pulls it off!
All I can say is that this is probably Sandra Bullock at her best. She normally plays sweet, somewhat innocent characters, but here she is an alcoholic and heroin (or was it cocaine?) addict. She comes to rehab to see pathetic alcoholics chanting "Together, together, no drugs!" and singing with the classic "Lean on Me." She is more accustomed to "Joy to the World", by Three Dog Night, and spending her nights at parties instead of liver inservices. I will not give away the end of the story, but it is very sweet AND moving. It certainly makes us think about certain everyday things we take forgranted. This is definitely a movie for all to see, but I think the rating is wrong. I am almost sure this movie was R, even though this says PG. Even if you don't buy it, at least take the time to rent it!
67 Sandra as a alcoholic?
This movie is one of the best movies of Sandra I have seen. She plays a alcoholic, who needs to find herself again in rehab, that is why the name "28 days". Why is this movie so good? Well, it shows you how the real world can be, and that it isn't always much fun as it looks. My favourite part of the movie is where Gwen (Sandra) plays a part of the hot series "Santa Cruz". She has these curly things in her hair, and plays a magic role as Dorian. She does this for her roommate, who is almost leaving rehab. Of course there are more funny bits in the movie, but also serious parts. But you have to acctualy see it, because I am not going to tell you more. In my last sentence I just wanted to let everyone know that YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS MOVIE!
68 Very Realistc !
This film is a very realistic one, based on how life could be affected when you or some relative or friend use alcohool or drugs. In addition of that, the history and the actors are very good and know how to tell the history in an amazing way.
69 28 stars for Sandra Bullock in 28 DAYS
In the hands of an unsympathetic director and an ego-crazed star, "28 Days" could have turned into an uninspired vehicle for award season.
In the hands of director Betty Thomas and star Sandra Bullock, "28 Days" is a masterful work of brutal honesty and bittersweet comedy that never loses it's dramatic edge. Bullock plays Gwen Cummings, a party animal like no other. Her wild antics spoil her sister's (Elizabeth Perkins) wedding, not to mention causing a nice family the hassle of rebuilding their front porch.
She is sentenced to 28 days in Serenity Glen, a sort of new wave rehabilitation clinic. The rest of the story should be experienced on screen as we see Gwen struggle from denial to opposition to acceptance and finally to a slow healing. She can't promise us, or herself for that matter, that her recovery will be swift. What she does do is take one day at a time and fight one battle at a time...a lesson that all of us can apply to our every day lives.
Sandra Bullock gives the absolute best performance of her career. She will make you laugh and she will make you cry, but what she does best is make you think and feel even if the thoughts and emotions are unwanted. She is absolutely flawless in this film. Further kudos should go to Betty Thomas for her edgy direction and screenwriter Susannah Grant ("Erin Brockovich") for hitting another one out of the park.
70 You Gotta Love Sandy
Sandra Bullock shows us why she is one of America's sweethearts with this heart-wrenching tale of a girl out-of-control. On drugs and booze, Bullock wrecks her sister's wedding by crashing the limo. She is ordered into a rehabilitation program by the judge. She doesn't fit in and doesn't think she really has a problem. But soon learns of her demons. Bullock gives a grittier performance than normal, not completely loveable throughout the movie. But this movie is a good showcase in which Bullock can finally flex her acting muscle. This movie is highly recommended for those people dealing with addictions, or know of people coping with addictions. For Sandra Bullock fans, you won't be disappointed.
71 Sandra Bullock ALWAYS shines
The month before this movie came out I was so excited, I almost peed my pants everytime I just HEARD the music from the commerical trailer. When I finally got to see the movie, I was not disappointed. The movie takes a sensitive issue and makes it discussable. For anyone who has ever been depressed or had an addiction, they can find comfort in this movie knowing they are not alone, knowing that there is help out there.
Plus, Sandra Bullock gives one of her best performances. While many people say her movies are flops - I don't think so. Practical Magic, Forces of Nature and Hope Floats are three of my favorite movies. She's always so believable. During Hope Floats when she's drunk and in the bathroom and lays her head on the floor because it's cool, everyone can relate to that. No one talks about throwing up and the comfort you get from the cool tiles of the floor - and that's what makes Sandra real. She doesn't seem untouchable - she seems like that girl you dated or your best friend from high school and that's why she never disappoints in any role because her performance is genuine. Even if she doesn't star in blockbusters, she always shines.
72 Awesome Movie.
28 Days is a totally great film. It is definitely on my must-buy list for the rest of 2000. The acting is great, Sandra Bullock deserves praise, maybe an Oscar nomination! Anyway, the direction, screenplay and set all took effort, and all of it pushed together makes a great film.
Gwen Cummings (Bullock) is a party-hard young woman who one day, ruins her sister's wedding, crashes a limo, and earns herslelf 28 days in a rehab centre.
Don't be fooled by the the ad's - this is NOT a comedy, it is by far a drama film, with a litte splice of comedy and a lot of heartfelt emotions. See it.
73 Here's Looking at You, Sandra Bullock
Director Betty Thomas has achieved something rare: A modern movie that tackles a serious issue and emerges with it's tastefulness intact. "28 Days" has the plot of a drama, the soul of a comedy, the feel of a documentary and a fabulous performance by Sandra Bullock that gives each genre a place in the delicate mix of this wonderful movie.
Bullock is Gwen Cummings, an alcoholic, pill popping journalist who is sentenced to spend 28 days in a rehab center she drunkenly steals a limo and crashes it into a house. Leaving behind her boozy British boyfriend Jasper (superbly played by Domonic West), Gwen soon finds the support and understanding of her eccentric and often hilarious new neighbors. There's Eddie (Viggo Mortensen), the washed up baseball player who'll sleep with anyone; Oliver (Mike O'Malley), the wisecracking Park Avenue pot addict; Andrea (Azura Skye), a young woman addicted to drugs and a preposterous soap opera called "Santa Cruz," which she eventually turns everyone on to; and Gerhardt (Alan Tudyk), the wacky German. "28 Days," unlike an "Erin Brokovich" where one star dominates, is an ensemble film that allows a variety of talents to shine. And with a cast of this caliber, sometimes that shine rivals the stars themselves in brightness.
Despite many humorous moments, it's the dramatic aspects of "28 Days" that make it great. When Gwen becomes so desperate for her pills that she jumps out the window to get some she threw away earlier, the obsessiveness and despair of dependency are captured at their most vivid. Then there's her troubled relationship with her sister Lily (sensitively portrayed by Elizabeth Perkins), who can't decide whether she wants to give up on the woman who has never been there for her, or stand by her in the hope that she will reform, risking having her heart broken yet again.
It's because Bullock and screenwriter Susannah Grant have made Gwen such a likable character that these situations have real bite. Sine we can't decide whether we love her or hate her, we keep watching the movie on the edge of our seats, searching for something that will proove to us once and for all what Gwen Cummings is. The movie wisely avoids giving us a straight answer to that and many other questions, allowing the viewer instead to make their own decisions and create their own relationaships with the characters and the things they encounter.
"28 Days" is a triumph for all involved. There's nothing better for a cynical critic like me then proof on the screen that films moving stories with engaging characters are still being made. Perhaps the best news of all is the resurrection of Sandra Bullock's career after three flops in a row. If she continues to show such wise judgement in choosing her projects, this poor man's Julia Roberts may be topping the A-list once again.
74 I cant wait to buy this movie
This will be on my shelf as soon as it comes out! It was great. I cried, I laughed and I didnt want it to end! It was great!
75 SANDRA BULLOCK DOES IT AGAIN
i have always liked sandra bullock. no she is no meryl streep , nor is she a b-rated actress. but i do think she does good work. her movies tend to play like big budget made for tv movies, ie: hope floats, force of nature, etc. she does movies that touch your heart. this is the case with 28 days, she plays a alcholic pill popper who is forced into a 28 day rehab center. it was nice to see sandra play a character who is not sugary sweet like in her other films, but , whola! , that sugary sweet girl does reapear in this film, i would say midway thru to the end. 28 days gave a good betrayal of people with addictions. no this will not be a ocscar nominated movie, nor is this probably sandra's best film work. but the film does work, and is worth a look. i just hope next time ms bullock's movie plays more as a film and not a abc movie of the week.
76 funny and a must see movie
This movie is so funny. Do not pass this movie up I say it is definitly worth the money you pay to see it at a Theter. This movie is not just funny but it also will make you think. This is a movie that sticks in your head.
