The Proposal

Watching on Wednesday: The Proposal

Title: The  Proposal
Type: Movie
Age Group: Teens +
Release Year: 2009
My Rating: 4/5

Uptight and bossy executive editor-in-chief, Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock), has her visa rejected.  She is soon to be deported back to Canada and that is something she does not want to happen. So she decides to blackmail her assistant, Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds), into marrying her so she can stay in America. He reluctantly agrees because he can get promoted. So it is a win-win situation. All they have to do is fake lovers. Easy...right?

But Margaret did not expect that they are to fly all the way to Alaska to meet Andrew's family! There they tumble into funny situations and learn more about each other. But their relationship is strictly business. What will happen to the two when their plan changes?

Ah, watching The Proposal reminds me why I love romantic comedies. This story is totally cute with enough funny moments and emotional parts to balance it out.

The last movie I enjoyed Bullock in was Ms. Congeniality, back in the 2000s. But the last movie I watched her in was Premonition, which was a little sad and one I wasn't so eager for. I love her in this role as Margaret who she plays a boss that takes everything seriously. She evolves from the beginning to the end because she learns some valuable lessons as she spends time with Andrew.

Reynolds is such a cutie! I adored him in Definitely, Maybe and was thrilled to see him in another great chick flick! You also get to see him butt-naked in The Proposal and oh my, love the body much? I think I drooled a little when I saw him with nothing on! (Private part covered, no worries!) As Andrew, his father has a lot of expectations from him to take over the family's businesses.  But Andrew lives for his dreams, not his parents'. I am a little envious of him because I'm the total opposite.

Last updated: 2010-04-09 08:33:05 by user01

Booze Revooze: A Drinker's Skewed View of The Proposal

Ramblings: The Proposal? Just Say ‘No’

Final Proof: ½ Shot

You know that one sober simp who only knows one joke and tells it, always badly, repeatedly and the only reason you invite him along to the bar is so you can make fun  of him? That’s why i see romantic comedies. So i can sit here in the Bar None and tear them a new one. Sure, it’s easy but us drunks find fun wherever we can, right?

Like that stupid joke your stupid designated driver tells over and over again, i knew exactly where the story was going and just what the punch line was. i got it, but it didn’t make me smile.

As for The Proposal, the only original thing about it was–just kidding, there was nothing even remotely related to ‘new’ here.  Not even as distantly related as Ben Affleck is to Obama. Nope, not even that  distant.

Buzz Kills (Watch Out for Spoilers)

Sex: 1½ Shots

Alicia Hunt  Where Are You?

This is an open call for Alicia Hunt, who portrayed Gillian (credited as ‘Coffee Barista’), the Starbuck’s counter babe. You’re as cute as all get out but i couldn’t find any photos of you! Think of the free  pub-licity!  Alicia, if you’re out there and reading this, would you please send some shots my way? If you do, you wouldn’t be the first celebrity to stop by…

Apart from Ms Hunt’s stellar appearance in The Propsal, we get Sandra Bullock. She’s the reason i gave the flick half a shot overall, because she’s pleasant to look at and has a good sense of comedic timing. But especially because she’s pleasant to look at:





Remember last time how i was telling you about Titty Blocking (when an actress is topless but the director hides her boobs through different  miss-directing techniques)? There’s a long sequence in The Proposal with Sandra Bullock aprés shower. At first it’s hair Titty Blocking (she walks out of the shower with her hair glued to her boobs) which is an underused approach, in my opinion, so it was nice to see it here. ‘Course it woulda been nicer to have no TB at all, but it’s Sandra Bullock we’re talking about here and you can rub your magic lamp for all you’re worth and that fantasy still ain’t gonna come true. After that, there’s a switch to the more traditional hand/arm on chest block, which is less effective for us viewers. Still, if you look really hard, there’s a ¾s glimpse of Bullock’s butt in a mirror behind her and i’m here to tell you, Sandra’s in great shape for a 45-year-old.

The other hottie in the movie was Malin Akerman (AKA Laurie Jupiter / Silk Spectre II in The Watchmen):





Drink: 0 Shots

You get to see Malin Akerman sip a beer twice and the first time she doesn’t even swallow. This is not a joke.

Some random woman is holding a bottle of beer while she tucks money into “Ramone’s” belt during a strip tease to Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s “Relax”.

Rock & Roll: ½ Shot

Did you not just read that the movie has a chubby dude stripping to “Relax”?

Theoretically, the movie has “Cult of Personality” somewhere in it, but i just saw the movie and had to find this out on the web.

That should tell you prominent it was.

Boring Technical Crap

Written by: Pete Chiarelli

Directed by: Anne Fletcher

Starring

Sandra Bullock – Margaret Tate

Ryan Reynolds – Andrew Paxton

Malin Akerman – Gertrude

Alicia Hunt (where are you!) – Gillian the Coffee Barista

Bottom Line

Run away, run awaaaay!

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Al K Hall<br />
Functional Alcoholic Slurperson<br />
(No, REALLY. Google &amp;quot;Slurperson&amp;quot; if you don't believe me.)

Last updated: 2010-03-31 17:02:05 by user08

The Proposal

 
The Proposal is a 2009 American romantic comedy film. It was directed by Anne Fletcher starring Sandra Bullock as Margaret Tale and Ryan Reynolds as Andrew Paxton.
 
The Proposal Plot
Margaret Tate is the executive editor-in-chief of a book publishing company. All of her co-workers hate her, including her assistant Andrew Paxton. Bob Spaulding who is a senior editor who was fired by Margaret because he is unable to get an author named Frank be interviewed by Oprah also hates her.

After learning Margaret is being deported to Canada, she forces Andrew to marry her, as his future is tied to hers. When the government investigates, Mr. Gilbertson informs them that they will undergo rigorous testing to prove that the marriage is not fraudulent. Andrew accepts the proposal unwillingly, under the condition that he is promoted to the position of editor and his manuscript be published. He also forces Margaret to propose nicely to him on her knees in the streets of New York, and to allow him to tell his parents they are getting married.

The two are forced to spend the weekend with his parents in Sitka, Alaska in order to sell the lie, where they will be attending the 90th birthday party of Andrew's grandmother (Gammy). Margaret is very unreceptive of Alaska, and is furthermore shocked to learn that Andrew's family owns most of the business in Sitka. They attend a surprise party for them, where Andrew catches up with his ex-girlfriend, Gertrude "Gert". After he is humiliated by his father, Joe Paxton, Andrew announces that he and Margaret are getting married. They are forced to kiss, and do so passionately, showing the first signs of respect for one another. Andrew's parents then show them their room, and Gammy gives them a special blanket called baby-maker, which they avoid. Andrew and Margaret sleep separately - Andrew on the floor and Margaret in the bed.

The next morning, Margaret wakes to hear her phone ringing. After waking Andrew with her loud conversation, she goes outside; the family dog, Kevin, follows her and is swooped up by an eagle. She gets Kevin back, but the eagle instead takes her phone. Andrew, having seen the commotion, informs her that she, his mother Grace and Gammy are going shopping; the shopping actually proves to be a male strip show by Ramone. Margaret talks with Gert about Andrew, who tells her that they dated from high school through college, and when Andrew proposed to her and said that he wanted to elope she said no, because she didn't want to go from her home. Margaret comes home and takes a shower, but finds no towels; when she goes to get one, she is stopped by Kevin. Meanwhile, Andrew confronts his father Joe after he apologizes and asks him to take up the family business, telling him he's happy in New York. He goes to the balcony of their room, stripping naked. Margaret is also naked, goes for a towel after distracting Kevin, only to run into Andrew. He sees her tattoo before going to take a shower. That night, Andrew and Margaret tell each other a little about their past, and find out they like the same band.

Next morning, Joe and Grace knock at the door with breakfast. Andrew and Margaret hurriedly get into bed, and the family suggests they could marry the same weekend, and they reluctantly accept. Andrew is stressed because the marriage is actually fake, and Margaret tries to comfort him, finding herself genuinely caring for him. To sort out her emotions, she goes for a bike ride into the woods, where she finds Gammy "giving thanks". Gammy invites her to join her, and they end up dancing to "Get Low", while Andrew watches. Andrew takes her into Sitka, and she tries to contact New York. However, Gammy and Grace arrive and take Margaret to be fitted into a dress that Gammy's great grandmother made, and a necklace that's been in the Paxton family for generations. Deciding that she can't do this to Andrew, she hijacks a boat and tries to explain, but she falls off after he takes the steering wheel. Andrew goes back for her, and they return to his house. Once there, they find that Andrew’s father has contacted Mr. Gilbertson, who asks them again to admit the sham. Andrew vehemently denies.

During the wedding ceremony, Margaret decides she cannot do this to Andrew and confesses the business arrangement in front of everyone- including Mr. Gilbertson, who tells her she has twenty four hours to get back to Canada, and thus goes back to New York to pack her things. Andrew rushes to their room only to find she has already left leaving Andrew's manuscript with a note of praise from Margaret on the bed. Upon returning, another argument arises between Joe and Andrew. Gammy has a heart attack while trying to stop them and while being airlifted to the hospital has Joe and Andrew to quit arguing before she passes. When they agree, Gammy reveals she had faked it. Andrew attempts to stop Margaret's flight, but cannot do so in time. Upon doing so, however, Andrew shows up at the office and confesses his love for Margaret in front of the entire office staff, proposing marriage all over again. They go to Mr. Gilbertson once more to get engaged "for real".

Movie Review: The Proposal
I give this romantic comedy 10/10. I really enjoy the movie and love the story on the way they hate each other and finally realized that they have many things in common. It’s worth watching and not boring. I definitely recommend this funny movie.

http://www.favorite-movie-review.blogspot.com

The Proposal Review

Oh Sandra, you just might be the next Meryl Streep if you’re not careful. So far you’ve done action, comedies and dramas and you have done them all well. You have an incredible gift and talent that most actors can only dream about. I just love your spark and your enthusiasm. I love your approach to the roles you play and each line you deliver is done with flawless passion. You are gracious in victory and most importantly in defeat and that was obvious during your speech at the Razzies.

Of course I am talking about the one and only Sandra Bullock; who else? Amy Adams will always be my favorite actress, but Sandra is a close second, well, at least she’s in my top 5. She is just too funny in the roles that she plays and in real life during interviews. I love and respect her outlook on life and how she embraces the film business.

Sandra stared in three of the many movies in my Watch List for 2009, those movies are: The Blind Side, All About Steve, and The Proposal. She won an Academy Award for Best Female Lead Role for her portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy in The Blind Side. Unfortunately, she also got a Razzy for worse performance of the year for her part in All About Steve. However, she not only went to the Razzies ceremony, but she accepted the dishonor with “pride”. That is what makes her great, she’s not afraid to poke fun at herself and that is why she is such a great entertainer and why I admire her so much.

I’ve already reviewed The Blind Side and I am sort of looking forward to seeing All About Steve since everyone hated it so much, I would like to see for myself what the big deal was. However, Steve will have to wait. Today I’ll be reviewing The Proposal.

Sandra played Margaret Tate, an executive editor in chief of a book publishing company and a native of the home of the best sport in the world, curling! It turned out that Margaret was not well liked by her co-workers, she was not a very nice person at all. She was mean, controlling, rude and coldhearted. This is very obvious throughout the movie.

Of course no matter how mean and nasty she was, her employers loved her. She was a shark and that’s what these big companies like in their employees; so they were more than thrilled with her. However, they found out—apparently before she did—that her visa renewal had been rejected and she was in danger of being deported back to Canada. If she was deported, she would not be allowed to work for any American company not even by telecommuting. It wasn’t legal and the company was not willing to risk it. She was about to lose her job when her assistant walked in and interrupted the meeting. At first she was annoyed with the interruption when suddenly she had an epiphany. She grabbed her assistant by the arm and announced to the board that there was not going to be any deportation because she had been planning on marring her assistant all along.

Of course the laws in this country aren’t that simple, but for the sake of the comedy, Hollywood always takes liberties. Plus most people don’t know the real immigration laws so I guess it’s okay. However, just so you know, marring an American does not automatically make you a citizen, you can still be deported.

Margaret and her husband to be, Andrew Paxton, went down to immigration to begin the proceedings. Mr. Gilbertson, the immigration agent investigating Margaret's case made it clear that if they were caught trying to defraud the government that there would be serious implications for both parties. But Margaret didn’t care, she wanted to stay and she wasn’t even thinking about Andrew. The shrew!

Andrew of course wasn’t thrilled about the proposal, but then he too thought he could use this opportunity to further his career by proposing a deal. It would be a win/win situation for both, a business proposition of sorts and that way they could both get what they wanted. She would get to stay in the country and keep her high status job and he could get promoted to editor and have his chosen manuscript published.

One problem remained, Andrew’s family needed to know about the engagement to appease Mr. Gilbertson. The challenge, they lived in Alaska! Most of the movie takes place in Alaska, it gives me shivers just thinking about it. Not because of the cold, but because I hate that place…Listen, nothing good comes from Alaska except for perhaps king crabs and salmons. Remember, Sarah Palin is from there and look how much trouble she’s caused. My neighbor is also from Alaska and no one in our neighborhood can stand him. But I’ll have to put all that aside and judge this movie fairly and not by my previous experiences with the state.
The truth is that Alaska is quite stunning! Some of the scenery in the movie was just breath taking…okay, that’s enough of that oil infested place! This movie isn’t going to win any awards for cinematography. So there! However, it was nominated for several comedy awards and rightly so. Both Sandra and Betty White were hysterical in their roles. Didn’t I mention that Betty White was also in this movie? Betty White played Andrew’s grandmother and she was a peach. She was superb, magnificent as only Betty White can be! There was a moment in the movie where Betty is fitting a wedding dress on Sandra and she’s feeling Sandra up trying to find her breasts, “They gotta be in there, somewhere!” she said. I laughed for the rest of the movie thinking about that part, I honestly don’t remember the rest of the film!

Another funny and creative aspect of this film was Oscar Nuñez. Now, I don’t know who the hell this man is; I have never seen him before in my life! However, he was pretty darn funny too. He played several characters in the movie, but it wasn’t like an Eddie Murphy movie where he played several characters at once. No, this was different, in Sitka, Alaska, where Andrew’s family lives, the population 9000 is kind of small for a community. So Nuñez who played the character of Ramone held many jobs in the town. He was a waiter, the only male stripper in town, a shopkeeper and finally he was also a minister. Each time we get to see Ramon on screen we all think the same thing, “Hey, wasn’t that the waiter!”, “Hey, isn’t that the stripper?” Ramone was definitely one of the highlights of this movie.

The Proposal was very, very funny. It was a bit cheesy, yes! It was predictable, yes! However, between Sandra, Betty and Nuñes the film was quite entertaining and unique regardless of all the cheesiness and predictably. I say rent this movie and enjoy it!

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Recommendations: Avatar, The Proposal

- Victor Rodriguez

The Proposal

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds
Romantic Comedy, 2009

A bossy high powered book publishing executive finds out that her Visa will not be expired and she will have to return to Canada. In order to avoid this she basically tells her assistant who she has ordered around and mostly ignored for the past 3 years that he must marry her so she can keep her Visa. At Grandma's birthday weekend in Alaska the pair find out more about each other then they ever thought they wanted to.

• I really liked this funny movie.
• The story line was kind of typical but they did it well and it worked.

4 Stars

Just Me

The Proposal

Starring:

Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson and Betty White.

Director: Anne Fletcher

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Rated: PG-13

A demanding book editor blackmails her Assistant into marrying her to allow her to keep her job and not get deported to Canada.

The Proposal is the type of Romantic Comedy that you know the story before you even see it, A Paint by the numbers Romantic Comedy. You know that Icy career woman Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) who after blackmailing her Assistant Andrew (Ryan Reynolds) into Marrying her will thaw out and fall in love with him. The only question is, how will it happen and when. The supporting cast is solid with Mary Steenburgen (Grace) and Craig T. Nelson (Joe) as Andrews Parents with a nice supporting role by Bettie White as the cooky Grandmother.

The Plot Device of the proposal, Margaret getting deported to Canada is contrived and not even based in reality.  Clearly nobody involved in the film has heard of NAFTA (The North American Free Trade Agreement) where immigration and deportation are not even involved; a simple TN visa is acquired by providing employment documents when crossing the border. One would think Ryan Reynolds who is Canadian would know this. There is also a scene where Maggie dances in the woods to the Lil John Classic “to the window” that although is amusing, feels completely out of place with the character as she is not the type of person that would know this song in the first place.

Credit must be given to Sandra Bullock for the scene where she gets out of the shower, Sandra has always been a good looking girl next door type, she is known for being cute and relatable not for having the best body in Hollywood. She shows off the majority of her body with strategically placed hands that really show she is just a normal girl with a normal body, a very Un-Hollywood move that shows her lack of ego.

Ultimately The Proposal is Contrived, Formulaic and despite it all Enjoyable, It has more flaws than you can count yet at the same time is still entertaining. It’s probably not worth seeing in the theater but definitely worth a date night DVD rental.

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The Proposal

Anne Fletcher's, "The Proposal" is the latest addition to the most cliched and predictable movie genre in the history of the human race...the romantic comedy.

The plot and the characters have been seen in some capacity in movies for many decades. It's for this reason that "The Proposal" is not original at all. However, this does not take away from the fact that it is just overall a fun, enjoyable movie. The cast which includes Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Craig T. Nelson, Mary Steenburgen, and Betty White, are probably the strongest parts of the movie. Everyone, especially Betty White in several scene stealing moments is extremely capable at doing comedy. At the very least it's worth one viewing for a dollar at Hannaford.

The plot is simple enough and the outcome can be predicted almost immediately after the opening credits end but here goes...Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) is the editor-in-chief of a book publishing company and Andrew Paxton(Ryan Reynolds) is her assistant. As it turns out Magaret is Canadian and is going to be deported. However, there is one way that she can stay in the United States and keep her job...marry an American...and fast. So she forces Andrew to marry her, despite the fact he hates her because she isnt's a terribly pleasant person. The two go under an intense government anaylisis to make sure the marriage isnt just a ploy for Magaret to remainin the country. After the "engagement" the two go up to Sitka, Alaska where Magaret meets Andrews family, including his parents (Craig T. Nelson and Mary Steenburgen) and his grandmother (Betty White) and tell them about the proposed marriage...bet you can't guess what ends up happening between Magaret and Andrew.

Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock have great chemistry in the movie. Which works out great especially since they both run into each other naked at one point. The two play off each other wonderfully and the interaction feels natural. Unfortunately Craig T. Nelson and Mary Steenburgen who are great, experienced actors did not get enough screen time. Therefore, they weren't used to their full potentials and were given pretty bland characters to play. Betty White is by far the best part of the entire movie. She has been doing comedy for half a century so as expected she is quite experienced. All her scenes, ranging from giving Magaret and Andrew the "baby maker" blanket to chanting around a fire in the forest are just a pleasure to watch. She could have used a lot more screentime.

The writing, although pretty uninspired works for the type of movie "The Proposal" is. Whatever the script lacks in originality the actors make up for in comedic talent and energy. Overall many of comedic scenes are executed well, except for that whole scene with "the only male stripper in Alaska", which was strange and unnecessary and someone should really apologize to Sandra Bullock.

"The Proposal" has gotten mixed reviews and won't be nominated for any major awards...ever...but its a good, funny summer movie with a great cast and it's worth a try if you like any of the cast members or the director, who also did "Step Up" and "27 Dresses." And Betty White, for me anyways, makes the movie worth seeing. At 87 she is still incredible at doing comedy...2 1/2 stars...most of them due to Betty White...yep former "Golden Girl"

The Proposal

Some day the romantic comedy will keel over and die. Its rapidly cooling body will be hurled onto the junkheap of film history to lie with the detective movie and the western.

But if "The Proposal" is any indication, that day remains far away.

This standard rom-com does little more than follow a formula set forth by a hundred predecessors, yet it manages to entertain, engage and amuse. And in the end, can we really ask for anything more?

Sandra Bullock plays Margaret Tate, a demanding boss at a high-powered New York publishing firm. Young and handsome Ryan Reynolds plays Andrew Paxton, her hard-working, long-suffering assistant.

Meanie Sandra Bullock gets thrown for a loop when she is informed her work visa is expiring, for reasons never explained, and she will soon be deported back to the howling wastes of Canada. In a desperate attempt to stave off this disaster, she convinces her ambitious assistant to marry her. In exchange she will ensure his swift advancement in the publishing world. It will be a marriage only on paper, and in a year or two they can dissolve even that union. Everyone will be a winner.

Except...

(spoiler alert of the century)

...true love blossoms, throwing a kink into the best-laid plans.

What could be more predictable? Well, here's why the story works anyway:

Due to the attentions of a suspicious immigration agent (a ridiculous stretch), Bullock and Reynolds must fly to Reynolds' family home in Alaska to announce their marriage to his family. 

Since Reynolds doesn't want his family knowing about the mercenary nature of their arrangement -- and how it reflects on his anything-to-succeed character -- he and Bullock must maintain the pretense that their love is real.

They have to sleep in the same room. They have to make up stories of how they first met. They have to dance. They have to kiss. They have to learn everything there is to know about each other.

This despite the fact that they start the story loathing each other deeply.

So it's a story of two people thrown together, forced to maintain a pretense of affection, who discover that the pretense is slowly turning into the real thing.

This is nice for a couple of reasons. First of all, it's ironic. The last person Reynolds would want to marry is the one person he's forced to marry. And vice versa. Irony always works in storytelling -- well, almost always. It works here.

Second, the situation allows the audience to be in on a secret. We know Bullock and Reynolds are lying about their relationship, but Reynolds' family, of course, does not. This is called having superior position, and it too almost always works in movies.

The rest is simply a question of getting the little things right.

Consider character names. Margaret Tate is a tough-as-nails, hard-driving career woman. Of course she is. Andrew Paxton is a handsome young man with a good heart. Perfect. His hard-working, no-nonsense dad is Joe Paxton. His affectionate mom is Grace Paxton. Every name works.

This movie does a lot of little things right.

And little things matter.

SCORE:

How Accomplished: 62/100

How Much I Enjoyed: 77/100 (caveat: I saw this movie in a theater packed with people who came to laugh)

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The Proposal (review published July 2009)

It is what it is. You know the premise and you know how it is all going to end. The key is how do you get there?
 
Maybe it is not fair to compare characters in one story to characters in another, but I am going to do it anyway. Sandra Bullock's Margaret Tate, a boss who is despised by her inferiors, is reminiscent of Meryl Streep's Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada (2006, dir by David Frankel). But where the latter was given exemplification throughout to back-up the claims of hatred, the former fails. First-time screenwriter Pete Chiarelli doesn\\\'t take the screen time, nor story time, to put his characters on display. Very quickly we find ourselves in Alaska, admitedly a visually pleasant device in the film, where everything unfolds within a single weekend. And apparently a 4-day weekend.
 
Betty White enters as the energetic, but somewhat senile, grandmother to provide some life to this otherwise plain romantic comedy. Also, fans of \\\"The Office\\\" will recognize Oscar Nunez, whose character provides a few bright moments as a running gag.
 
Yes, I laughed. At best, there are some fun slapstick moments (of course it is always more fun when you are surrounded by 150 laughing audience members in a theatre). But when the humor starts to fade into the supposed climax, the realization of how awkward it is sets in. The characters on the screen say they are in love, but I am not feeling it. Yes, they have learned something about each other and care for each other as human beings, perhaps with potential romantic interest, but not the sort of love that enables two people to spend the rest of their lives with one another. And because of the legal situation that sparks the inciting incident these two do not even have a chance to let their relationship truly form. Essentially they have just jumped directly into marriage without any idea of what to expect from one another.
 
For a comedy film, that is a dismal conclusion to arrive at.

Movie Review: The Proposal (2009)

The Proposal is one of those romantic comedies that you wouldn't necessarily call good, but there are worse ways to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon than watching Sandra Bullock (Ms Oscar Nominee) and Ryan Reynolds (Mr Scarlett Johansson) on screen (though let's face it, not many).

Without giving too much away, Bullock plays Magaret Tate, the bitchy executive editor-in-chief of a publishing company, and Reynolds is Andrew Paxton, her hard-working assistant.  You can pretty much work out the whole story from there if you have a think about the name of the film (ie The Proposal), the poster, and what type of roles Bullock and Reynolds seem to always play in rom-coms.  And to top it off, the director is Anne Fletcher, who was at the helm of Step Up and 27 Dresses.  Let's stop pretending the movie is not entirely predictable.

Fortunately, The Proposal does have some funny parts, and it does have a bit of heart.  There are a few decent laughs, mostly involving Bullock and her silly character traits, though Reynolds does have surprisingly good comedic timing.  However, it's not what I would call a hilarious movie - a number of jokes don't quite have the intended effect, and a few simply fall flat.

Another plus of the film is that there a couple of minor breaks from the ordinary rom-com cliches, and a few unexpected little twists.  You probably wouldn't even notice them, but they're there.

What I probably liked most was that the film was set in a major publishing company.  Though the opening scenes were relatively short, it was interesting to see how a place like that worked.  I'm not so sure I'd like to work in one now!

3 out of 5 stars!

[PS: Sandra Bullock's character unfortunately reminds me of quite a few power women at work.  Despite the fact that it's hilarious to make fun of them, their lives are actually really really sad.]

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PJM

THE PROPOSAL (2009)

BOTTOM LINE: Sandra Bullock and a mostly genuine cast try to make this rom-com work but the film does not spark, largely thanks to the lack of believability between the concept and adapting it to fit the rom-com formula.

THE GOOD: Sandra Bullock channels a bit of Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly character from The Devil Wears Prada, particularly in the opening scenes with her character Margaret Tate, an emotionally aloof, cruel book publisher who terrorises her staff with her demanding and inconsiderate nature. This is a welcome change for Bullock who tends to stay with the warm, fuzzy and goofy characters. She has an assistant Andrew (Ryan Reynolds) who capitulates to her every whim on the hope that she will promote him to editor. One day, Margaret is told by her boss that she will be deported back to Canada because she did not complete her visa requirements as she was supposed to. In desperation, she cajoles Andrew in to a sham marriage to legitimise her visa. The premise is good, if not overly original, and allows for some good by-play between Bullock and Reynolds, particularly in the opening scenes where they barter with each other to get a deal that will give them both what they want. As part of the sham, Margaret goes with Andrew to a family birthday, where she discovers a whole other side to Andrew that she never knew, and eventually, the seemingly cold heart of hers begins to melt. The actors playing Andrew’s family are well suited for the roles, lending a genuine believability to the proceedings; stand-outs include Betty White, Mary Steenburgen and Craig T. Nelson. “The Proposal” has its moments, and does well when it returns to sequences that directly cover the sham marriage between Margaret and David.

THE BAD: The inconsistency between the sham marriage concept underlining the film and the filmmakers’ attempt to map it on top of the traditional romantic comedy formula ultimately makes this film completely unbelievable. We are to believe that two characters who loathe each other from the outset quite convincingly, are to somehow find the spark of love within a weekend, to the point where they want to turn their sham marriage in to a real one. Hollywood is great for doing unbelievable things but in this case, the suspension of disbelief does not kick in at all. As a result, none of the “genuine” moments resonate with any sort of truth, with a good example being a sequence where Margaret’s emotions are finally stirred for the first time when she is accepted in to Andrew’s loving family, something she had forgotten about ever since her parents were killed when she was in her teens and she had to fend for herself. The moment itself generates identification with the character, but none of it comes together, leaving a film that becomes less than the sum of its parts. Another problem is that Ryan Reynolds does not look particularly comfortable or suitable in the role he is playing. It may be that Bullock’s presence overpowers his, but he does not seem to match her that well at all for the romantic scenes, other than to be the requisite love interest for her character. “The Proposal” is let down by its adherence to formula. If the filmmakers had chosen to do something more interesting as opposed to taking the tried and true path of ‘exposing the sham which then leads to a happy ending where all is forgiven and the couple can live happily ever after’, they might have had a very watchable film.

RATING: 5/10

Todd Murphy <br />
http://www.allaboutmovies.net

The Proposal

I’ll admit that I thought this was going to be another sappy, romantic comedy and chick flick. At least that’s the way the trailers made it seem. However, that was not the case, as The Proposal surprised me with its heavy doses of comedy. Then again, Sandra Bullock romantic comedies tend to be heavier on the comedy than the romance angle.
The plot is actually a bit different from the normal boy meets girl, they go through the usual stuff, including a rough patch, then hook up at the end. This time we get a hard boiled boss anda guy executive assistant. Bullock’s character is about to be deported to Canada (of all places), and in a desperate attempt to stay in the country (and keep her job) she feigns an engagement to Reynolds. This leads to all sorts of lies and deceit including a trip to Alaska to meet his family. Of course, there is that little rough patch that all rom-coms go through, but in the end every thing works out. If only life were that simple.
Sandra Bullock is not necessarily known for being the evil type. Most of her characters are the vulnerable ones, so this is a bit of a departure for her. It does work for her, sort of. As top notch of a performance this is for her, I still had a hard time believing she could be the cold, uncaring boss lady she portrays. Still, there are glimpses of the Bullock we all know and love while they are in Alaska. On a side note, you don’t normally think of Sandra Bullock as having a good body, but her nude scene (you don’t see anything) with Ryan Reynolds had me impressed, especially when ou consider that she’s nearing 50 and has a bod like that.
Ryan Reynolds is his usual charming self in this film. The best parts of his performance are when he is going head to head with either Sandra Bullock or Craig T. Nelson. He may be known more for his action roles these days, even if he did start out as a comic actor, but romantic moves like this work to his credit as well.
Betty White steals the show as the grandmother, “Gammy”. In typical Betty White fashion, she is a mixture of innocent humor and shocking at the same time. Craig T. Nelson is very forceful and at times despicable as the father, while Mary Steenburgen is the polar opposite ans is extremely loving and caring.
This is a surprisingly cute film that never gets too serious, even when it hits that conflict section. As any avid reader of this blog will know, I’m no fan of excessively serious or dark movies, so for this one to keep the light tone was a welcome breath of fresh air. The actors really seemed to enjoy this film and it is no surprise that it as successful as it was.
Even if you’re not a fan of romantic comedies, this is one you’ll enjoy. On top of being a good story, there a re funny moments, dramatic moments, and women get a naked Ryan Reynolds, and guys get a naked Sandra Bullock. No, this isn’t the world’s greatest movie, but it does do what movies should do, and that is entertain.

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