# 28 Days (2000)

### reviewed by
Alex Ioshpe

DIRECTED BY: Betty Thomas WRITTEN BY: Susannah Grant CAST: Sandra Bullock, Domenic West, Elizabeth Perkins, Steve Buscemi

MPAA: Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements involving substance abuse, language and some sensuality. RUNTIME: USA:103

    RATING: 4/10

"Alcohol and drugs = bad. Not alcohol and drugs = good. Got it?"

Just when you though you've seen enough of brave young women dealing with their personal problems on screen, be that insanity or alcoholism, Hollywood releases yet another one of those 'deep, emotional stories about finding yourself'..

'28 Days' is practically a visualization of the usual 'meaningful' true stories that people are so proudly retelling at AA-meetings. Gwennie (Sandra Bullock) is a young woman who drowned her problems in alcohol. For her life was a big party, with no beginning and no end. This behavior has of course estranged her from her only sister and from life itself. Her existence is filled with endless parties and comic episodes. Such as when she got drunk with boyfriend Jasper (Dominic West), borrowed her sister's (Elizabeth Perkins ) wedding limo and crashed it into someone's house. This time she had to pay with a 28 day stay in court-ordered rehab. Here she must realize that the only thing that can save her is her is redemption, willpower and commitment. Most important she must realize her place and direction in life and understand that her life is not just a big party.

The film itself feels like a rehab program, whining and moaning about things that have been said and written a million times. It is a classic cautionary tale. An echo. A big, fat and expensive cliché. A shadow of last year's 'Girl, Interrupted', which likewise followed in the footsteps of great masterpieces like 'The Cuckoo's Nest' and 'Trainspotting'. Director Betty Thomas has stuffed her film with so many failures and errors, that it is impossible to sum them all up in one review. For some paranoid reason she decided to make her film a drama/comedy. Jokes and funny characters almost deliberately delude you from the really important and complex issues: alienation, despair, terror, confusion, loneliness. And what awesome power and strength of character it actually takes to overcome all that and become clean. Isn't that what the filmmakers wanted to show in the first place? Even the transition process itself seems like a walk in the park. Betty Thomas' idea of hell is a cozy, homey place where happy alcoholics and cheerful drug addicts are not allowed to smoke, drink or watch TV after 11. It is simply too light, simplified and unnecessary sweet to be taken seriously. But the worst thing about it is that it actually thinks that it is saying something of significance. That it actually tries to educate the audience with its extremely predictable and primitive story. "All you need to do is just say no", says Dr.Cornell (Steve Buscemi) as if was the revelation of the century. And that's how simple it is! In fact I would rather watch 'Lost in Space' once again, than return to '28 Days' .

As for acting, it's acceptable, but hardly anything else. For Sandra Bullock it's an opportunity to demonstrate that she is capable of more than 'Speed'. She handles her part with a surprising professionalism and ease that certainly saves the film from being a complete flop. Dominic West shines as the source of Gwenie's devilish temptations, but Elizabeth Perkins' and Steve Buscemi's great talents are wasted on unnoticeable and shallow characters. Although intellectually 'Girl, Interrupted' was a greater achievement, '28 Days' is superior in its visual aspect. There are some nice flash back sequences and occasionally impressive pacing, but the overall technical aspect of this film is on the ground floor. The most important thing is that we've seen it before and it was a lot better. 'Clean and Sober', 'Only When I Laugh', 'When A Man Loves A Woman' , 'Leaving Las Vegas' and many other stronger films were made about the same issues. So what's the point? In other words '28 Days' doesn't contribute to the moviemaking business on any level. If you're caught in a snowstorm or bolts of lightning fall from the sky and you're standing in front of the movie theatre, you might as well go in and watch '28 Days' . Under all other circumstances stay away, because this film equals $8 and 103 minutes lost.

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