The Proposal

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson, Malin Akerman, Oscar Nunez, Betty White
Directed by: Anne Fletcher
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance, Comedy
2009

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Upon facing deportation back to her native Canada, a tyrannical book editor (Sandra Bullock) forces her long-suffering assistant (Ryan Reynolds) into marrying her, so she can continue to work in the U.S. When deportation officers begin to suspect something is going on, the pair are forced to go to Alaska to meet his parents (Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson) and continue the charade of their impending marriage.

Review:

Tim: The Proposal is a surprisingly watchable, enjoyable romantic comedy. While it does put a little twist on the genre, this is pretty much a straight-up romantic comedy, which is surprising, because it defies all expectations and manages to be entertaining while maintaining a sense of freshness about it. We're seen this story before- but for some reason, it doesn't feel like we have while we watch. That's a pretty good achievement.

The cast is quite good. Sandra Bullock is one of the all-time great romantic comedy leading ladies, and proves that again here. She really goes all out in this film, pushing herself to new limits. While she's not very believable as the tyrannical, cold, hard, unfeeling boss (I just couldn't buy it one bit), as she starts to warm up throughout the movie, she becomes more comfortable, and more enjoyable to watch. She definitely starts out the movie weak, but gets stronger and stronger as the movie goes on. Her co-star is quite good as well. Ryan Reynolds can succeed in just about any type of genre, and he proves again here that he works very well in romantic comedies (he was terrific in Definitely, Maybe. Reynolds and Bullock have surprisingly good chemistry, although they are not always the most believable together. If you can get past the occasional weak moment and disappointing acting, these two actually have some sparks together. I enjoyed how they played off each other.

The supporting cast is decent, but this is really Bullock and Reynolds' show. I was glad to see the underrated, always underutilized Mary Steenburgen. She was quite good. Craig T. Nelson is decent, but his awful hair was distracting. I always enjoy seeing Betty White, although she is a bit typecast in these types of roles. I actually was pretty excited to see Malin Akerman here- I think she has the skills to be a bigger star than she is, but unfortunately, she gets far too little to do here. I was really glad to see Oscar Nunez here (his work on The Office makes him worthy of more silver screen roles) and he really goes all out. The supporting cast here offers no standouts, but they do their jobs well and add to the film.

This movie does a good job balancing out the romance and comedy. There weren't enough laugh out loud moments (the only one is perhaps my favorite scene- the "Why are you naked?" "Why are you wet?" exchange between Bullock and Reynolds), but the movie is enjoyable and fairly funny throughout.

When I think about The Proposal, I am both pleasantly surprised and slightly disappointed at the same time. I am pleasantly surprised because this could have been another forgettable, yawn-inducing romantic comedy that feels exactly like every other film in the genre- but it is not. This movie is entertaining, exciting, and quite enjoyable to watch. On the other hand, I was slightly disappointing because this movie could have achieved the rare success of a romantic comedy that defies the genre and emerges as a very good movie regardless of genre- but doesn't quite reach those heights. Too much of this movie is what you expect from a rom-com- the cookie cutter scenes and jokes. This movie is good, but it is certainly not great, and a number of expected and tired moments prevent this film from reaching its full potential. I enjoyed The Proposal, and it is a good movie, but it could have been better. Still, this is one of the year's more pleasant surprises.


Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Definitely, Maybe; The Lake House, Two Weeks Notice