28 Days Had Me in My Feels

I almost didn’t write a review for this movie. When I set out to review movies I planned to watch without my husband, Jacob, I intended to write about funny movies or cringey romances. This movie was, clearly, not about what I thought it was going to be. When I clicked on the Sandra Bullock drama, I thought it was going to be a romance. Upon reading the description of the movie I was quite surprised to find it different. After watching the movie, I was worried I couldn’t write about it for this section of my website, because I think Jacob would actually really like this movie.

This movie is not a romance, though there are some romantic parts in it. This movie, at its core, is a drama about a woman struggling with addiction. The final straw that lands her in a 28 day rehab program is where the movie begins. After ruining her sister’s wedding by being late, by being drunk, by making a scene, and an incredibly inconsiderate speech, Gwen (Sandra Bullock) checks into rehab. In the beginning, she does not take rehab seriously. She intends to run off with her messy boyfriend, Jasper (Dominic West). Gwen has Jasper sneak her pills, then she plans an escape that goes massively wrong. This becomes a turning point for Gwen and she begins taking the advice from her therapist (Steve Buscemi) and the other addicts in the rehab more seriously. The healing for Gwen begins, she improves and faces her childhood for the first time. She also is able to talk to her sister (Elizabeth Perkins) about her addiction and how she’s felt about their relationship and her sister’s relationship to drugs and alcohol.

Along the way, Gwen makes many friends with other people in the rehab. She even begins a slightly romantic friendship with a famous baseball player (Viggo Mortenson) who struggles with sex and alcohol addiction. She makes many other friends in rehab who slowly become more and more significant to her as the movie goes on. These relationships and how they progress and change plays an incredibly significant role in Gwen’s journey to get sober and stay sober.

Like I said, this movie is not what I expected. In fact, it’s probably much better than what I had expected it to be. All the conversations about getting and staying sober felt impactful, both for the characters on screen and the people watching. It was a movie that despite the somber tone, felt warm and inviting to watch. The short lived romance between the baseball player and Gwen was very natural and reasonable. They didn’t make ridiculous promises to each other or set expectations; you could just tell that the two liked each other and enjoyed each other’s company.

28 Days did not shy away from some dark and terrible things that can happen when healing from addiction or when you care about someone with addiction. These moments in the movie were hard to watch and tugged at the heartstrings. It makes you think about the people in your own life and the things they struggle with. It also makes you feel helpless, like caring about someone with addiction can often make someone feel. These moments were done well in an otherwise light hearted film.

This movie was fun and was funny even, despite the main plot of the movie being a heavier topic. It was heart wrenching and heartwarming. It is a movie I plan to watch again, and hopefully with my husband next time. Reviews for this movie are surprisingly low and I do not understand why. There are certainly parts of the movie that are cheesy, having been released in 2000 will have that effect on a movie, but overall it was entertaining. I would suggest this movie to any number of people who are looking for a good dramedy to watch, especially if they like Sandra Bullock. It’s a good movie that I suggest others watch.