28 Days

by Alicia Potter

What sounds like a meditation on menstruation is actually an absorbing yet cliché-riddled saga about the rigors of rehab. Think Girl, Intoxicated: in her most ambitious role to date, Sandra Bullock proves both charismatic and convincing as Gwen, a hard-partying writer (is there any other kind in cinema?) who lands in court-ordered detox after plowing a limo into a house. Defensive, cynical, and deep in denial, she attempts abstinence with the help of a sad-eyed counselor (Steve Buscemi) and an archetypal hodgepodge of 12-steppers, of whom Alan Tudyk steals the serenity-praying show as a bizarre, vaguely Teutonic gay guy.

No, booze isn't really a depressive in the hands of director Betty Thomas (Private Parts) and writer Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich) -- in fact, the film juxtaposes such unlikely elements as an uproarious soap-opera parody and a guitar-strumming troubadour à la There's Something About Mary. Self-righteous 28 Days isn't, but coupled with a six-pack of showy camera tricks, the levity feels like a distraction, an apology for the requisite -- and fleeting -- downer moments. For better and for worse, this is a movie about alcoholism that's not very sober.