28 DAYS (2001)

The movie begins with Sandra Bullock sleeping late on a Saturday morning after a long night of partying with her boyfriend Jasper. Realizing she is late for her older sister’s wedding, she hurriedly gets dressed and makes it there just in time, drinking all the way.

At the reception, she makes a complete fool of herself and ends up falling on the wedding cake. She says she’ll get another one and steals the limo and crashes it into a house.

Next, we see her pulling up to “Serenity Glen” to serve a 28-day sentence of rehab instead of jail time.

Her roommate is a 17-year-old recovering heroin addict who has gone through rehab before. Bullock is at first reluctant to join in any group discussions, chants or sing-a-longs but slowly comes around. Her boyfriend Jasper comes by every now and then and at first, supplies her with pills and alcohol and even an engagement ring. By the end though, she does not want any of these, including the ring.

There is a chance for a brief romance between Bullock and a baseball player going through rehab himself but it never develops. At one point, Jasper catches the two of them talking and he thinks there is more going on but ends up getting decked by the ballplayer.

Her roommate, just days before leaving rehab, gets sent a cloth doll that we later find out has heroin and other supplies in it. She overdoses and dies.

Sandra finally leaves the center, realizes that she can’t be with Jasper anymore because he wants to live the same life as before and she knows that it will never work.

In the final scene, she seems to be back on her feet and full of confidence as she walks through town. She sees another rehab patient at a flower shop and they have a laugh and embrace.