28 Days

 3/4

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Viggo Mortenson, Dominic West, Steve Buscemi, Azura Skye, Alan Tudyk, Elizabeth Perkins

Rated PG-13 for Mature Thematic Elements involving Substance Abuse, Language and Some Sensuality

There's an old saying that goes, "We laugh so that we may not cry."  I think that applies here, and that recognition is what makes this film work.  "28 Days" is a comedy in the sense that it makes us smile and laugh, but what makes it more than a cheap sitcom is that it recognizes the underlying truth of the situation these people find themselves in.  Rehab isn't just about singing songs at a mountain retreat.  It's people acknowledging that their lives are a mess and they need to undergo some serious and difficult changes if they are ever going to be right again.

Gwen Cummings (Bullock) is out of control, although she doesn't yet realize it.  She has a job, a boyfriend named Jasper (West) who is right there with her in the middle of the wild parties and pill sessions.  She believes that she's the life of the party.  Then her sister's wedding happens.  She shows up both late and drunk, and her quest to "live it up" on the dance floor ends with her toppling over the wedding cake.  Then she steals and crashes a limo on the way to get a replacement.  Not fun.

In lieu of jail time, Gwen ends up at Serenity Glen, a drug rehab upstate.  She doesn't want to be there and makes no secret of it.  But a quest to get the pills that Jasper has smuggled in for her ends up with her taking a tumble off a tree, and she realizes what is obvious to everyone else: she isn't a wild child but an addict.

"28 Days" is braver than it initially appears to be.  James Berardinelli accused it of sanitizing the subject of addiction (to his credit, he acknowledged that a movie doesn't have to be as hard-hitting as, say, "Requiem for a Dream" to get the point across), but that's untrue and unfair.  It's not a gritty or harrowing picture, but it's not trying to be.  This is a movie about self-realization and self-improvement.  The fact that it is at times lighthearted doesn't mean it shies away from difficult material.  On the contrary, it embraces it.  Gwen is forced to confront unpleasant truths about herself and her life that she would rather ignore.  She makes mistakes and is learning to be honest about her shortcomings the damage she causes to herself and others around her.

Few actresses are sunnier than Sandra Bullock.  But that's not the side of her that she explores here.  She's darker, angrier and Gwen is certainly not the most likable person.  For Gwen, getting off the booze and pills is the easy part.  The hard part is addressing the gulf that exists between her and her sister Lily (Perkins), her difficult upbringing, and the realization that Jasper is not a healthy influence on her.  Bullock makes this tricky role look easy, and that's the hallmark of a good actress.

This is her show, but she has a good supporting cast backing her up.  No one plays a scoundrel like Dominic West, so casting him was the perfect choice.  Viggo Mortensen is a peculiar but effective choice as a nice guy with demons of his own.  Steve Buscemi is underused as Gwen's counselor, but he's always a welcome presence.  Elizabeth Perkins doesn't have a lot of screen time, but her appearances are the most effective.  "28 Days" doesn't shy away from the carnage that Gwen's problems have caused, but it also explains them.  Lily comes to an understanding that Gwen's issues may be her own, but it isn't as simple as blaming it all on her.

The film was directed by Betty Thomas, whose resume doesn't inspire much confidence.  Her credits include "Dr. Dolittle" (the Eddie Murphy vehicle, not the shit show with Robert Downey Jr.) and "The Brady Bunch Movie."  Not exactly Oscar material.  But Thomas does a solid job, never pushing the material.  She trusts the cast and the screenplay to do the work for her and never tries too hard to make us laugh or cry.  Thomas is more interested the need for honesty rather than one-liners and tears.  That's what makes this movie so relatable and, ultimately, uplifting.

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