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The tagline says everything you need to know about 28 Days: "The Life of the Party... before she got a life." Unfortunately, Columbia TriStar has instead pushed this film as a lighthearted comedy in the vein of While You Were Sleeping, which doesn't really properly represent what the film is about. There is nothing funny or lighthearted about the subject matter of 28 Days, and if you have ever suffered through the heartbreak of seeing a friend or relative kill themselves with alcohol or substance abuse, you know the story and it's not a happy one. Because the subject matter s is considered by the big studio heads to be a hard sell, they have tried to shroud the movie in a cloud of fun dust. If you happen to be seeing this film for a hardy laugh and a refreshing dose of meaningless entertainment, you have picked the wrong film.

Gwen Cummings (Sandra Bullock) is a mess in the most literal sense. She believes that she is a lot of fun to be around and that life is a big party. She has no idea that she is an alcoholic of the worst kind, one that is not even aware that they are addicted. But then the day finally comes for her to face the hard reality that she has lived for so long, a fate that eventually befalls all addicts (well, the lucky ones.) Gwen and her addict boyfriend Jasper (Dominic West) attend her sister's (Elizabeth Perkins) wedding, and Gwen, of course, ruins everything. Giving a ridiculously vile toast, she smashes the wedding cake and steals a limo in an attempt to buy another cake, only to crash into someone's house on the way.

Soon, Gwen is sentenced to "28 days" in a rehab facility known as Sobriety Glen. After much resistance, she finally comes around and begins to relate to the eccentric personalities of the other addicts around her (Azura Skye, Alan Tudyk, Viggo Mortensen). As things begin to turn around for her, Gwen realizes what a pathetic state her life is in, and the value of the severed relationships her reckless lifestyle has caused.

Fresh off of the Eddie Murphy comedy Doctor Dolittle, Betty Thomas attempts to invoke the girl power of Sandra Bullock to turn 28 Days into a commercially successful film. Using Bullock's charm and her own accessible directing style, Thomas tries to connect the easily-depressing subject of 28 Days to a mass audience. Unfortunately, because the script has been peppered with comedy, this is an extremely hard feat for Thomas to accomplish. The film feels unsettling for the first and last half-hours. This is partially due to the subject matter itself, but also because ridiculous lines are uttered at some very serious moments in the film. Susannah Grant, who recently wrote the phenomenal Erin Brockovich, also wrote the screenplay for 28 Days. I find it difficult to believe that she put all of the comic moments into the screenplay by free will.

Grant is one of the most enthralling screenwriters on the market today and she can bring a central female character to life with much realism and complexity. She has now written two exceptional female lead roles in two vastly different films. If she had been able to keep the script for 28 Days sans comedy, it would have been a far more effective piece. Sandra Bullock shines through with an incredibly jarring performance as a woman who has lost control of her own life. Bullock is the dramatic center that keep this film in tact. 28 Days is not an entirely bad film by any means. It could have been better, but it does serve its purpose, to teach the lesson that addiction is bad not only for those that participate in it, but also those who can't help but love the addict.

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