I wanted so much to like this film. Following the horrible Speed 2, Sandra hasn't had much success with the critics. While I personally liked Hope Floats and Practical Magic, these two along with Forces of Nature have generally been considered flops. Along comes 28 Days, it appears to be a moving, emotional story about one woman's trials and tribulations as she goes through rehab for a drug and alcohol problem. Problem is, it seemed as if director Betty Thomas didn't know if she wanted to go the way of a drama or a comedy. Relying heavily on Sandra to carry the movie and a couple of interesting supporting characters (including the hilarious Alan Tudyk as Gerhardt), it just seemed as if the movie just couldn't get going.

In fact, it doesn't get going. It takes way too long for Gwen (Bullock) to get into rehab where the whole movie takes place, more or less. Even though we need some sort of background picture, the film over does it and wastes time. Add to the bad timing the extreme predictability of the movie, and it just all adds up to equal one unbearable picture.

Bullock is relied on to carry the film, and while she does make a good attempt and is mostly convincing, her acting strength alone can't carry the film. There's really nothing new to see as Gwen is partnered with the usual patients of a rehab clinic (well maybe they're not usual, but they represent every walk of life), from the sterotypical old woman, black woman, distressed 17-year-old, grumpy old man, gay man, and the sexually active middle-aged-man. Combine all these together and you might assume you'll have a good movie, but unfortunately, 28 Days falls apart and fails miserably.

While 28 Days seemed more like 28 hours, it does have it's fair share of funny situations (many thanks go Gerhardt) and touching circumstances. But alas, there isn't much that helps this film along. It crawls at a snail's pace at times and the predictable plot doesn't help either. Along with the predictable plot come a lot of holes - writer Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich) provides us with a linear script with a few flashbacks to Gwen's childhood and binge drinking, but leaves just about everthing else wide open. What happens with the limo she crashes, the house she crashed into, or the strange man that plays the guitar (a la Something About Mary)? It seems hard to believe that for drunk driving, grand theft auto, public drunkeness, and a variety of other traffic-related crimes, she only gets 28 days in rehab.

Plot holes and inconsistencies aside, there isn't much really that 28 Days has to offer. A few laughs thrown into a quasi-Girl, Interrupted doesn't qualify this movie as "good." In fact, it's quite the opposite - dragged along by predictability and mediocre acting, 28 Days never really gets off the ground, but rather suffers a slow, painful death (somthing like brain tumor clusters - which would have been a much better alternative for Gwen because then we wouldn't have had to sit through this movie).

Click here to see scans of the sneak preview ticket.

Genres: Drama
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 103 minutes
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