28 Days (2000)

Director:

Betty Thomas

Writer (WGA):

Susannah Grant (written by)

Release Date:

14 April 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The Life of the Party... before she got a life.

Plot:

A big-city newspaper columnist is forced to enter a drug and alcohol rehab center after ruining her sister's wedding and crashing a stolen limousine.

Plot Keywords:

Wedding | Car Accident | Drug Addiction | Intoxication | Alcoholic Mother

Cast

Sandra Bullock	...	Gwen Cummings
Viggo Mortensen	...	Eddie Boone
Dominic West	...	Jasper
Elizabeth Perkins	...	Lily Cummings
Azura Skye	...	Andrea
Steve Buscemi	...	Cornell Shaw
Alan Tudyk	...	Gerhardt
Mike O'Malley	...	Oliver (as Michael O'Malley)
Marianne Jean-Baptiste	...	Roshanda
Reni Santoni	...	Daniel
Diane Ladd	...	Bobbie Jean
Margo Martindale	...	Betty
Susan Krebs	...	Evelyn
Loudon Wainwright III	...	Guitar Guy
Katie Scharf	...	Young Gwen

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements involving substance abuse, language and some sensuality.

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Malaysia:U | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:12 | USA:PG-13 (Certificate #36735) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 | Iceland:L | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Asheville, North Carolina, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The use of neck signs was based on real rehab therapy techniques.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: I saw this film on disc, so maybe the theatrical version was different, but I lost count at 12 flagrant boom mic drop ins.

Quotes:

Gwen Cummings: Andrea, does the phrase "in confidence" mean anything to you?
Andrea: You never said not to tell.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "HBO First Look: 28 Days (#7.5)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

Dreaming

Average Comedy/Drama

Sandra Bullock takes on a more serious role than usual in this light comedy drama set in rehab. Bullock's performance is OK, and the movie is reasonably entertaining, however I would hesitate to recommend this film too highly, even if you're a Sandra Bullock fan.

The problem I had with '28 Days' is in its failing to settle in a genre; it tries to be funny at the wrong times and this distracts from the seriousness of key moments in the film, where it should provoke an emotional response in the viewer.

Overall I generally enjoy Sandra Bullock movies, but I found '28 Days' fell a little flat, and failed to be either a good comedy or a good drama.

6/10