Rating: 
Summary: the bell jar meets girl interrupted
Review: '28 days' has a good mix of humour, song, seriousness and fun which makes it an easier movie to watch than 'girl, interrupted.' like the classic 'the bell jar' and, more recently, 'girl interrupted', '28 days' explores the creative & sensitive mind of women who refuse to live life by any normal rules. as a writer, i am always interested in watching movies about writers, but sandra bullock's creative outlet in this movie is more verbal and physical than written. i would have liked to have seen her character creating something out of the madness that is alcoholism. instead, she's almost a bystander in her treatment program and we watch as she fights herself in a battle against alcohol addiction. the supporting characters are what makes this movie great, including Loudon Wainwright III as the "guitar man." his songs add a deeper, serious touch to this film and are, as always, fabulous. if you're interested in hearing more from Loudon, check out 'career moves' asin:... be sure to see him in concert the next time he visits your city -- you'll laugh and you'll cry. he's the greatest. sandra bullock is luminous in this picture and i quite enjoyed watching it. the flashback scenes to her childhood give more insight into her character than anything else in the film. i will definitely recommend this one to friends.
Rating: 
Summary: overly slick but occasionally enjoyable
Review: **1/2 There comes a time in the career of every performer identified mainly with lightweight romantic comedy roles to take the plunge into more serious acting challenges - in the hopes that we will see beyond his or her pretty face and into the heart of the great actor that resides within. And strangely enough, many of these actors and actresses choose the same exact route to accomplish this feat - that of portraying a person heavily addicted to drugs and/or alcohol. This was the case with, for instance, Meg Ryan in "When a Man Loves a Woman" and Michael J. Fox in "Bright Lights, Big City" to name just a few. Now we have Sandra Bullock attempting to stretch her thespian muscles by portraying an alcoholic in "28 Days," the tale of a young woman's experiences in a detox center located in a bucolic suburb of New York City. One of the initial problems with such films is that casting such well-known faces in these parts automatically ends up conferring a bit too much glamour on the situation. And "28 Days" is no exception. It's hard to accept Bullock as a particularly credible person in this role. Still, the movie is generally watchable because it manages to make the people and the rituals at the center seem both utterly addled and emotionally endearing all at the same time. When Bullock - feisty, close-minded, smug in her sense of superiority - first arrives after being ordered to the center as a part of her probation, we are as appalled as she is by the touch-feely nature of what is going on there. If anything could keep one from becoming an addict, the threat of being sent to a place like this would just about do it. But then, as the various characters begin to open up and reveal themselves as true hurting individuals, we, like the Bullock character, begin to be won over. But even these people aren't given enough screen time to really grow into fully-rounded, complex characters in their own right. The film never entirely breaks out of its TV-movie formula. We are treated to all the standard plot devices common to the genre: the inevitable overdose by one of the patients, romantic interludes with a professional baseball player, the clashes between the latter and Bullock's troublemaking boyfriend. One of the problems with glossy studies of addiction such as this one is that, more often than not, we are led to believe that the "cure" is a permanent one - not necessarily because the film shows us that (in fact, it makes a few nods in the direction of showing that it ISN'T always permanent) but because the two-hour time frame and the audience demand for a hopeful, upbeat ending inadvertently leave us with that impression. To be fair to the film, it doesn't tie up all the loose ends into a nice pretty package. We are given cause for hope, but the open-ended nature of the final scenes suggests properly that the struggle will go on. "28 Days" is a film with its heart in the right place. In fact our own hearts go out to it, to Ms. Bullock, to all those involved in its making. We realize that it is difficult to make a film that, on the one hand, yearns to be an uncompromising study of a subject as gritty as this one, yet, on the other, feels the need to appeal to as wide a mass audience as possible. The result, unfortunately, is a film that is too lightweight to be taken seriously, too "entertaining" to be real.
Rating: 
Summary: Awesome Movie.
Review: 28 Days is a totally great film. It is definitely on my must-buy list for the rest of 2000. The acting is great, Sandra Bullock deserves praise, maybe an Oscar nomination! Anyway, the direction, screenplay and set all took effort, and all of it pushed together makes a great film. Gwen Cummings (Bullock) is a party-hard young woman who one day, ruins her sister's wedding, crashes a limo, and earns herslelf 28 days in a rehab centre. Don't be fooled by the the ad's - this is NOT a comedy, it is by far a drama film, with a litte splice of comedy and a lot of heartfelt emotions. See it.
Rating: 
Summary: A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY
Review: 28 DAYS is another entry in this new Hollywood genre : the clinic movie. After a dozen movies, clichés and stereotypes are already there so don't expect the screenplay to be original. You won't learn a thing about the therapies developed in the american rehab centers but you will have a great time with the performance of Sandra Bullock and the whole cast. I also admit that the presence of Steve Buscemi would save any movies from total oblivion. He is silently becoming the best american actor in activity. I also liked a lot director Betty Thomas's sense of humor which was already patent in PRIVATE PARTS. Alan Tudyk's performance as well as the episodes of the soap opera Santa Cruz could be the only reasons to rent 28 DAYS if you're a Bullockphobic. No theatrical trailer, but english subtitles, a commentary and more hilarious episodes of Santa Cruz, definitively my favorite soap. A DVD to rent.
Rating:
Summary: Moving story
Review: 28 days takes you into the world of substance abuse rehabilitation, when Gwen is sentenced to jail time or 28 days of rehab for driving drunk and crashing into a house. We see Gwen struggle through the stages of rehabilitation from resistance (when she first arrives) to slow acceptance of her situation and then to self-realization of her addiction and recuperation. The scenes are funny, warm and moving all at the same time. Sandra Bullock did an excellent job portraying her character of Gwen!
Rating:
Summary: Much better than I thought it would be. A big surprise!
Review: 28 Days Score: 72/100 Boy, it has been some time since Sandra Bullock has made a good movie. Speed 2: Cruise Control and Forces With Nature were both serious flops with critics around the globe, and she hasn't been very well respected for a long time. But, this will be the film that puts her on track. 28 Days is a well-made and thought-provoking film that is much better than it looks, and it deserves a wide audience. Gwen Cummings (Sandra Bullock) is a New York writer who just can't say no to drink or drugs. After crashing her sister's wedding car and ruining her wedding cake, Gwen is ordered into a rehabilitation centre, where she spends the next 28 days. At first she doesn't have much respect for the centre and tries to escape, but as her toxic levels come down, she gradually realises that maybe she can turn her life around. The plot may sound lousy, but it isn't. It deals with human emotions properly and in a moving way, and 28 Days is able to put a smile on your lips and make tears come out of your eyes. Bullock is a stunner in this film, she is perfectly cast as Gwen, while Steve Buscemi is as brilliant as he always is, no doubt about that. Azura Skye, who co-stars as a friend of Gwen's, lights up the screen in an ignored performance which deserves praise. Susannah Grant, scriptwriter, seems to have a thing for making good actresses come back to their great standards. In the same year of release as 28 Days, Grant wrote Erin Brockovich, a brilliant legal drama that made Julia Robert's get the career-best nod. Now she can fix Sandra Bullock, and this could very well be Bullock's best film. It has it's problems, some major ones, but 28 Days remains a worthy watch for all ages.
Rating:
Summary: Cliche ridden--and the cliches are inaccurate!
Review: Throughout the film, I asked myself, "What's the point?" Were the screenwriter or director trying to endorse treatment? Well, it was almost as obvious in the film as in real life that those in "rehab" had problems of which alcohol or drugs were a small part if at all. So the quality of the endorsement was dubious. One accuracy I should add is that most in "treatment" smoke like chimneys with no complaints from the center hierarchy while often absolutely forbidden to use other necessary medications, ones, needless to say, far less dangerous or life threatening than tobacco! When I saw Steve Buscemi, taken a role because it may have made him a few bucks. But he was kind of funny, though his role wasn't intentionally that way. He was typical of center "directors," whining constantly in every 12-step cliche in the book as to how "we" are all alike. I have this problem, so you have the same. "That's the way life is." Bullock acted well in rejecting that nonsense. The romantic portion of the story was predictible. You know, Bullock's boyfriend drinks too much, is a real social animal. While in "treatment" she falls to a degree for a baseball star also in treatment who can't keep his pants on. The two guys meet and get into a fight. Then the baseball star it seems STILL can't keep 'em on, and Bullock witnesses that. That was a theme not developed at all beyond the depth of a romance novel. Overall, I'd say the screenwriter and/or director took advantage of a fad of "treatment," something to which conventional wisdom suggests more of us should have and developed a story around it. And Bullock's character took the unfortunate step of buying into what the "treatment" honchoes told her. A person as intelligent as her character seemed to be wouldn't have bought into it. There were new actors, and, again, some of the story is witty, so I don't totally reject the film. But take it from someone who knows: "treatment" doesn't work like that. If anyone is looking for a model of "treatment" to send a loved one, don't use this film as that model. Go to critics of the "treatment" regime, and ask them what it did for them.
Rating:
Summary: Sandra Bullock once again pulls it off!
Review: All I can say is that this is probably Sandra Bullock at her best. She normally plays sweet, somewhat innocent characters, but here she is an alcoholic and heroin (or was it cocaine?) addict. She comes to rehab to see pathetic alcoholics chanting "Together, together, no drugs!" and singing with the classic "Lean on Me." She is more accustomed to "Joy to the World", by Three Dog Night, and spending her nights at parties instead of liver inservices. I will not give away the end of the story, but it is very sweet AND moving. It certainly makes us think about certain everyday things we take forgranted. This is definitely a movie for all to see, but I think the rating is wrong. I am almost sure this movie was R, even though this says PG. Even if you don't buy it, at least take the time to rent it!
Rating:
Summary: close, but no martini...
Review: All in all, this movie had some interesting insights into the world of acoholism, which I think were candid, honest and well-thought-through. It had all the markings of a great movie - solid cast, interesting premise... but it really didn't live up to its promise as a "great" movie. Essentially, the movie fizzles at the end. It takes, the safe, predictable road. I don't think a recovering alcoholic really gets to wrap up conflicts with pretty little ribbns like that. And c'mon: An alcoholic who doesn't care about anybody and doesn't think she has a problem goes into rehab? You already know what's going to happen! And to use Steve Buscemi (I'm a huge fan!) in such an uninteresting way (re: a rather boring guidance counselor) is a travesty. Mr. Buscemi must have been returning a favor by doing this one. In short, it's probably worth watching if you're a Sandra Bullock fan, but don't expect to be blown away.
Rating:
Summary: BORING
Review: Although Sandra Bullock does a pretty good job considering her limitations as an actress, I found this film essentially boring. The romance angle is unconvincing as well as are the meant to be colorful members of her AA froup. It's been a while since we've had a propoganda vehicle for AA, e.g., "I'll Cry Tomorrow," "Days of Wine and Roses," so to me, the picture seem dated in that sense. AA is not as successul as motion pictures would have us believe. although it surely is better than nothing.
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