28 Days

28 Days

Every drunk believes he is remarkable even though they are normal. Strange since, for a functioning alcoholic, the purview of life is mainly the same thing as every other day that involves drinking just enough to get through it all. This typically leads them into situations where they believe have become interesting. Such colors only come with clear headedness. Plus, he can recall it now.

This is what Gwen Cummings discovers in “28 Days” a movie featuring Sandra Bullock as the main character. At first glimpse her life looks wild and fun or messed up and depressed depending on how you see it. However, she has to leave early for work in the morning; thus this event cannot take place then. A party follows at Jasper’s (Dominic West) residence. It is however possible that they will make love if they don’t sleep off before starting something after going to clubs and taking designer drugs.. They stop a fire sparked by a candle using champagne bottle water spray while still in their clothes later on. Some fun it was!

Gwen goes straight from her bed to the refrigerator without even opening the door smoothly so well-practiced she seems not to have moved at all except for reaching behind her back while pulling out an ice cold beer bottle. Gwen is an accident waiting to happen to herself or innocent bystanders! Her sister Lily (Elizabeth Perkins) suffers most from these actions of hers however: “You make me hate you sometimes, Gwen.”

She tells her when she arrives late at church during Lily’s wedding ceremony. And then there is also Gwen who insults everyone over cake during toasting, knocks down cakes when dancing during reception and steals someone’s limousine only to end up driving it right into someone’s house instead of buying another one for herself later on Another very good day.

On arrival we find ourselves at Serenity Glen with a 28 day rehab program rather than jail term as punishment for Gwen. A MASH, like public address system is used to give running commentary on the rowdy characters in the camp. Too much peppy group singing by patients (as for me). “I’m not sick,” insists Gwen.

“I play Ultimate Frisbee twice a week.” The patients are familiar: it’s a bunch of crazies as always, though maybe slightly less insane than your usual prison inmates. Introducing Daniel (Reni Santoni), who saved his own life by giving himself an emergency tracheotomy after he had pumped his stomach from too much booze; Gerhardt (Alan Tudyk), sissy and snobbish, dancer and cokehead; and Andrea (Azura Skye), Gwen’s teenage roommate.

Gwen’s counselor is portrayed by Steve Buscemi as Cornell whose appearances in movies always make us smile because he often has weird scenes to act out or dialogues to utter but not this time around because he does it properly thus showing off some of his acting skills including being tough when necessary yet just appearing tired due to the fact that all of Gwen’s beloved eccentricity is just an old joke to him, very old. There’s a nice scene where she says exactly the wrong things to him before discovering he’s her counselor.

Another patient with whom she shares rehab is Eddie Boone (Viggo Mortensen), a pitcher with substance problems in baseball. Of course they begin a tentative, unstated courtship. Jasper gets confused on weekends (“Where are all the celebrities?” he asks on his first arrival, looking around for Elizabeth Taylor). Yet another fight ensues naturally between them over this matter which is even more predictable than if there ever was one about anything else in any other movie but however becomes interesting due to the new light cast upon it by demonstrating how Gwen plus Eddie represent everyone in rehab needing support from each other alone as sailors on a sinking ship!

In addition, Susannah Grant, who wrote the successful Julia Roberts’ film Erin Brockovich, also penned this movie. Similar to “28 Days,” I couldn’t quite agree with “Erin” as a result of the way its main character was portrayed. Unwise sartorial choices and scenes that were too transparently meant to be showcases; Roberts, so adored by everyone but she upstaged the material in Erin Brockovich (2000). Bullock’s ground level vulnerability does not turn her into a victim but simply makes her one more suitable case for treatment in 28 Days. That is unlikeable in 28 Days at least.

Note: Rated “28 Days” might work as a cautionary tale for teenagers.

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