Once again Sandra Bullock shines in a role where her natural personality and exuberance is an advantage for her role as Gwen Cummings. Gwen is an alcoholic and moderate drug user who, with her boyfriend Jasper, ruin Gwen's sister's wedding by acting like a couple of drunken louts, destroying the wedding cake, and finally taking the "just married" limo and crashing it.

Since Gwen was driving, she is given the choice of jail time or attending a rehabilitation clinic, which is what she chooses. At the clinic she quickly annoys everyone by denying her problem, being snobbish, and breaking the rules. But eventually she realizes that she does have a problem, and finally starts participating and making friends. By the end of the movie she has come to terms that she has to change her lifestyle before she self-destructs.

Sandra Bullock does a good job in this movie. She does the snobby part well, the recalcitrant part, the I'm sorry part, the romantic parts, all done well. It's hard to imagine Sandra being a bad guy in any movie, so that will be something to see if she can pull that off in a future role. But as a nice girl next door who has her flaws but is basically a nice person, that character she has nailed down.

There is a bit of romance in the movie, more of a hint of really, as it's never really developed. A Viggo Mortensen plays Eddie Boone, a major league baseball player who arrives at the clinic a day or two after Gwen. He's got a drug problem to work out, although that's not important to the story and there's no time devoted to his problem.

The movie's major theme is a self-discovery. A person finding about themselves, why they are, and how they got that way. For Gwen it's an alcoholic mother and her lack of wanting to commit to life. There are lots of these weird flashbacks that show Gwen and her sister and mom when Gwen was a kid, as well as other flashbacks to how she is as and adult. Lots of Sandra Bullock acting wasted.

Other people in the movie: Diane Ladd as Gwen's mother, who died when Gwen and Lily were kids. Elizabeth Perkins as Lily, the older sister. Steve Buscemi in a small role as the clinic psychiatrist. And a bunch of other people who played the other patients.

It's not a great movie, as there are parts that should have been developed better but were left out. See if it you like Sandra Bullock, as she is good in this movie. Keep in mind that this is a drama and not a romantic movie.

I saw Sandra Bullock first in Demolition Man playing a way-too-happy police office of the future. In Speed she was a relatively tough bus passenger. While You Were Sleeping is a great romantic story, and she did well then. A Time To Kill is a good drama with Matthew McConaughey, Samuel L Jackson, Kevin Spacey, Oliver Platt, Charles Dutton, Donald and Kiefer Sutherland, Patrick McGoohan, Ashley Judd, wow a lot of famous actors. Hope Floats I saw on TV and it was very boring, even if I like Harry Connick Jr. Practical Magic is a relatively good movie with Nicole Kidman. Forces of Nature with Ben Affleck was very good, even if I didn't like the ending -- although it was a good ending.

So I guess if you want to see Sandra Bullock what I recommend is Forces of Nature, A Time to Kill, While You Were Sleeping, and 28 Days. Those are the movies that I've seen where she has both a major role and does a good job in them.