Barnes & Noble

Sandra Bullock discards her perky, girl-next-door persona to play a willful drunk in 28 Days, a potentially dreary drama brightened by sharp scripting, endearingly eccentric characterizations, and assured direction. Bullock, whose previous screen roles have traded on her unnaturally sunny disposition, reveals an unsuspected dark side as a self-absorbed, substance-abusing New York writer arrested after drunkenly driving into the side of a house. Offered the choice between stints in jail or rehab, she opts for the latter but resists total compliance with the program. Memorable supporting turns are contributed by Viggo Mortensen (playing a fellow patient), Dominic West (a hard-partying boyfriend), and Steve Buscemi (a sympathetic counselor), but it's Bullock herself who rates top acting honors. Wailing, retching, shaking, and sweating, she paints a vivid picture of a tormented young woman struggling with her inner demons. Director Betty Thomas (Private Parts) expertly steers the star's performance while restraining the tendency of Susannah Grant's screenplay to lapse into soap opera. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

In this romantic comedy, a journalist who's become too much the life of the party finds a new lease on life in a drug and alcohol treatment center. New York newspaper columnist Gwen Cummings (Sandra Bullock) has a fondness for liquor, a boyfriend (Dominic West) with a similar taste for the bottle, and a party girl image that camouflages plenty of emotional baggage. At the wedding of her sister (Elizabeth Perkins), Gwen's pursuit of a good time goes a bit too far when she topples the wedding cake and steals the bridal party's limousine. The result is a court-ordered, 28-day stay in a rehabilitation facility for drug and alcohol abusers. Gwen's failure to get with the program causes her to butt heads with the clinic's director (Steve Buscemi), but her attitude begins to change when she meets Eddie Boone (Viggo Mortensen), a baseball player trying to deal with his substance abuse problems. Diane Ladd, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, and Azura Skye play Gwen's fellow rehab inmates, and legendary roots rock band NRBQ performs at the wedding reception. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 043396050648
• Source: SONY PICTURES
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital Surround, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English
• Time: 1:44:00
• Sales Rank: 8,832

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• 28 Days / the Net

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