SPOILERS FOLLOW!!!!!
OK, I admit that I liked this movie - like I confess that occasionally I listen to Anne Murray records (I can say that because I'm secure in my masculinity). Well, actually I liked Sandra. I know, she's not on par with Audrey Hepburn, Merrill Streep, Jodie Foster, or Helen Hunt but, there is a certain charming, disarming aura about her that says to me, "this movie is not great cinema, but love me despite my weaknesses". She's cute, funny (sometimes) and doesn't have to take her clothes off to be sexy.
Enough of my confessions, on to the movie. 28 Days was not "the moving analysis of an alcoholic drug abusing life forced into rehab" movie that I thought it would be (though I didn't have really high expectations to begin with). There were very few profound moments that brought insight into the devastation of alcoholism and drug abuse. In fact, it actually made addiction and rehab look fun (except for the puking your guts out while Sandra's character "dried out"). This movie wouldn't be much help to detour viewers from addiction. That's where I have the biggest problem.
There are two reasons why this movie failed to be impactful: FIRST - the cast and dialog were flat, mediocre, and non-provocative. The actors weren't convincing, they didn't stand out and make their characters memorable. They were very plain-vanilla two-dimensional entities. Even Sandra's character, as much as she charms me, was flat and shallow (again, not that I expected Oscar caliber work from her). I really wanted to bond with these people, to get a sense of what they were going through. It didn't happen. The dialogue was weak as well, which pushed this film further into mediocrity (and clearly didn't give the cast much to work with). There were no truly memorable quotes from any of the characters. There were few emotional scenes, and again, they came off rather flat and mundane. SECOND - the treatment of the subject was shallow and glossy. Addiction and abuse of controlled substances is a much more dangerous and destructive life style than depicted. We only see one mild-to-moderate situation with relatively minor consequences. For example: Sandra's character and boyfriend are late for her sister's wedding, having been drinking all night. They show up drunk and continue to drink until her character looses balance and destroys the wedding cake. She then proceeds to steals a limo and crashes it into someone's front porch (killing a ceramic lawn jockey in the process). Her only injuries are embarrassment and a bloody but not serous bonk on the head. This leads to court, which leads to the rehab assignment and the rest of the movie.
There were two pseudo-emotional scenes that carried the impact of a NERF baseball bat. Sandra's character is required to have a family member come to a counseling session to confront her about her past behavior and, her roommate (very young heroin addict) kills herself with an overdose the morning she is to be discharged. I didn't have a `relationship' with these characters enough to be moved by these events, and the dialogue was so uninteresting that it brought these potentially moving scenes down further. Sure, death of a young addict is tragic but in this film it came across as merely unfortunate. I know, I said I liked this film. Mostly for Sandra's charm, yet there were some small insightful anomalies scattered here and there. For example, some fellow rehabbers were not convinced they had problems. They were uncooperative and didn't take the program seriously. We also get a mini insight (though in a down-played non-event sort of way) into the true recovery rate of these programs. We see one character return after his release, having gone back to his addiction.
I liked the pitching lesson and how Sandra's character was instructed to throw with her eyes closed. The moral implied is that you only have control of the pitch until the ball leaves your hand. Do what you can while you are in control - after that there is no sense in worrying about what you can't control (the serenity prayer condensed). While this was a deep thought, its delivery and source were awkward (it came from an alcoholic pro baseball player in rehab. If he is so enlightened why is there in the first place?).
Another scene I liked was during the `confrontation'. I have to give credit to the writers, director and editors, for what seems to be a well-planed and executed surprise. Sandra's character is hearing her sister rip on her about destroying the wedding. She seems to be unaffected until her sister brings up an embarrassing and offensive drunken toast. She is enraged that her sister would make up such a story but quickly realizes that it really happened, she just doesn't remember it. The impact of this scene is enhanced because we think we have seen all the relevant scenes of the wedding then this comes out of nowhere. For a brief instant we make contact with the main character. We feel as stunned and confused as she does. Very good execution of a stunning and effective device that wasn't destroyed by the film's other weaknesses.
In a nutshell, 28 Days is mildly entertaining for Sandra Bullock fans. It isn't profound or particularly moving, and gives the Hollywood gloss-over to addiction and rehab. There are some redeeming qualities but overall the character development and dialogue are flat, not engaging the viewer. I generously give it a 6/10.
