accessAtlanta

City & State or ZIP Tonight, this weekend, May 5th...
City & State or ZIP
City & State or ZIP Tonight, this weekend, May 5th...
City & State or ZIP
What did you think of "28 Days"?
 Good 55% 233
 Bad 20% 87
 Somewhere in between 11% 45
 Haven't seen it 14% 61
Total Votes   426
28 Days 28 Days
More videos | Now playing

Grade: C+

Verdict: A well-meaning but uneven look at addiction and rehab.

Details: Starring Sandra Bullock and Viggo Mortensen. Rated PG-13 for substance abuse, profanity and some sensuality. 1 hour, 43 minutes.

Rate it: Write your own review

Review: If you ever wanted to see Sandra Bullock looking less than her perkiest, "28 Days" is your movie. It's designed for all the people who've been waiting to see cinema's chipper girl next door go clean and sober.

The big question is, who are those people?

Written by Susannah Grant ("Erin Brockovich"), "28 Days" is named for a four-week stretch at a rehab center, to which party girl Gwen (Bullock) is court-sentenced. That's because she capped a day of wasted partying at her sister's wedding by driving the newlyweds' getaway limousine into the side of a house.

Gwen not only has to battle withdrawal symptoms, but culture shock after she goes from New York City to a woodsy rehab center, where the patients seem to be in a perpetual group hug, or chanting slogans or singing "Lean on Me."

You might think that director Betty Thomas ("The Brady Bunch Movie," "Dr. Dolittle") is trying to get all the 12-step clichés out of the way up front, scoring points off the easy jokes before easing us into a deeper look at the recovery process. But the movie never shakes off its jokiness, even as we follow Gwen's slow, reluctant decision to drop her defenses and admit she needs help.

Bullock does the best she can to anchor the movie's too-many moods, and she pulls off several delicate emotional scenes. The supporting cast members don't come off nearly as well; they're a two-dimensional chorus backing Gwen's journey. You have to wonder what drew Oscar nominees Diane Ladd and Marianne Jean-Baptiste to a project that reduces them to just a couple of faces in Bullock's support group. Steve Buscemi is also underused. Dominic West as Gwen's reckless, enabling boyfriend, and Viggo Mortensen as a star baseball pitcher whose addictions include sex, have their moments. Azura Skye does sweet work as Bullock's teenage-junkie roommate. Alan Tudyk offers steady, if stereotypical, comic relief as a German gay addict desperate for a boyfriend; his stream-of-consciousness monologue about forks is one of the movie's comic highlights.

"28 Days" isn't an appalling clinical "comedy" like Patch Adams. It's a professional, appealing comedy-drama, but in trying to be all things to all viewers, it never really comes into focus.

Steve Murray, Cox News Service

[an error occurred while processing this directive]
 

Inside AJC.COM

Atlanta's best shoe store

Atlanta's best shoe store

Is it therapy to buy a pair of shoes? Discuss ... or nominate your favorite place to find those shoes!

More meat, please

More meat, please

McDonald's has unveiled a line of bigger burgers that will satisfy large appetites and scare cardiologists.

BET Awards

BET Awards

Photos: Janet Jackson, Monica, Maxwell, Jamie Foxx, New Edition, Keri Hilson, Ciara and more!

Private Quarters Splurge

Private Quarters Splurge

Husband and wife architects created a modern house that's still warm and inviting.

She lost 60 pounds!

She lost 60 pounds!

"My confidence is through the roof ... I can do anything," says Sonya Moste of Fayetteville.

Ultimate Braves fans

Ultimate Braves fans

Francoeur's Franks? Shef's Chefs? Just some of the passionate fans who have cheered the team.

Sign up for AJC's Weekend events newsletter

Kudzu.com services Find the right people for the job

Keyword     Business Name