22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sandra can play ANYTHING well, July 29, 2000
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 . . .
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Everybody hurts everybody, it's the human condition.", March 29, 2006
Maybe you are thinking what I was thinking when I first heard about this movie. "Oh great, they are making a cute movie out of a horrible problem called addiction, and are going to sum up rehab in a darling, romanticized way." I refused to watch it for a long time because of this presumption. Relax, and give the film a try. Although cute in places and using some subtle but great humor, '28 Days' does not romanticize the problem of addiction.
What it does manage to show, much to my amazement, is how trite and cheesy 'Recovery' can seem to the addict. The scenes of chanting, serenity prayers, and singing 'Lean On Me' are not portrayed as inspiring or moving, but as irritating customs of the Center. Perhaps portions of the movie go to the far edges of each condition, drunkenness and sobriety, but it does not come across as contrived. People really do these things, and some people really recover from it, and '28 Days' follows Gwen Cummings story, who is an exceptionally "gravitational" personality, easily allowing for a larger than life story.
Gwen (Sandra Bullock) is a writer, and along with party-time boyfriend Jasper (Dominic West) show up late and manage to ruin her sister Lily's (Elizabeth Perkins) wedding. After being late, Gwen ruins the mother-in-law's dress, takes a spin on the dance floor and winds out crushing the wedding cake, then steals a limo to drive to a cake store and replace it. Careening down the road, Gwen wrecks the limo into the side of a house. Sentenced to twenty-eight days in rehab or prison, Gwen finds herself at the Serenity Glen Rehabilitation Center.
Gwen's lifestyle as a New York writer/columnist is not conductive to sobriety, but even Gwen never realized the extent of her reliance on booze and prescription drugs. Not until she breaks the rules of Serenity Glen and her counselor Cornell (played by the amazing Steve Buscemi) arranges to have her sentence continued in prison. Only when Gwen practically leaps from a third story window in an attempt to retrieve the pills from Jasper that she earlier threw away does Gwen realize something is wrong with her. She decides its time to do something for herself, and convinces Cornell to let her stay at Serenity Glen.
Gwen must face many aspects of herself that she finds intolerable while sober, while also facing visits from Jasper who doesn't see the point of leaving their old life behind for sobriety. What follows is a touching, and yes, comical romp through Gwen's rehab, but it fits well because Gwen has a tendency to use humor to deflect emotional response.
The characters in this movie are outstanding. Sandra Bullock plays Gwen to perfection. Steve Buscemi is amazing as always, Dominic West as fun-boy Jasper is perfect, and look for a ridiculously intriguing performance by Alan Tudyk as Gerhardt, the funniest character in the movie. Gerhardt is an eccentric, over-the-top, emotional, stammering geek, and steals the movie with only a few lines. ("Oh my God, look at my package!" and "I want my foreskin back, no one asked when they took it, they just took it.") Also, at the very end of the movie, check out Gerhardt's T-shirt that he's wearing. Hysterical!!
Even through the horrid cheesiness of ridiculous rehab ritual, Gwen manages to make friends. Aside from Gerhardt, there is Daniel (Reni Santoni) the doctor who used to pump his own stomach, Andrea (Azura Skye), Gwen's roommate, a seventeen year old heroin addict who is far wiser than her years, Betty (Margo Martindale) as the crotchety but not humorless receptionist, and Eddie Boone (Viggo Mortenson) a professional baseball player addicted to booze and sex.
I was surprised at how well this movie actually turned out, comparing in my opinion to the classics 'Days Of Wine And Roses' and 'Lost Weekend'. Pay special attention to Cornell's speech for the group, where he talks about using whether something happened or nothing happened. While there is good humor in this movie, and it realistically portrays the cheesiness of all those rehab clichés, it still winds out to be a good (though somewhat tragic) story about a good person. Gwen is obviously a loveable personality, both drunk and sober, which makes her choice more realistic than someone who makes a "dramatic change". There is a very funny scene where Gwen uses her talents as a writer to create an impromptu play based on Andrea's favorite soap opera, Santa Cruz. The clips of this soap opera are so over the top that you will laugh your hinder off at them.
Great acting, fantastic characterizations, good photography, a healthy dose of realism, a great script, and insightfully surreal flashbacks made this movie much better than it should have been. Oh, and it made me thirsty (he he he). Definitely a 'buy', but I always recommend rent first. Enjoy!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A little light but still meaningful, April 21, 2005
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.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192250339_.gif){kind=small}
