Lights, camera, and one good drunk, please. Thus, Hollywood 12-steps Sandra Bullock in "28 Days," the latest rehab flick.
Twenty-eight days is the normal time for a visit to a rehabilitation facility, and the 12 steps are the steps of the program of Alcoholics Anonymous, and other recovery programs.
Tinseltown has, once again, given the light and fluffy treatment to a disease which can kill. Remember, "When a Man Loves a Woman"? Meg Ryan was the pretty, fluffy bewildered victim in that tale.
"28 Days," according to one reviewer, makes rehab look like a cinch, and fun at that. Gwen Cummings (Sandra Bullock) is a fun-loving, successful New York writer and favorite party girl, where Ryan was simply a distraught housewife deeply dedicated to vodka.
Gwen, however, runs into some trouble at her sister's wedding where she steals a limo and runs it into the well-kept lawn of a well-kept neighbor and earns herself a DUI. Bingo! Court-ordered rehab for Gwen.
There are, apparently, a lot of funny moments at the rehab, Serenity Glen, (the name, itself, would put off any drunk worth his salt), however the film doesn't address the serious side of Gwen's problem. It is an all too predictable tale. Gwen at first resents the facility and everyone there, but, finally comes full circle and loves all the "goofy inmates."
One light spot has to be the highly imaginative casting of dour Steve Buscemi, "Fargo," among others, as Gwen's counselor in this fairy tale.
It would seem that Hollywood, itself, suffers from the denial which is the curse of alcoholism, a disease which tells the victim he does not have the disease.
It is directed by Bo Johnson, Betty Thomas and Declan Quinn. (Three directors?)
It is rated PG for mature thematic elements involving substance abuse, language and sensuality.
It starts Thursday at Sunny Isles Theaters.
