Movie Notes: The Proposal

June 22nd, 2009

= 4 stars

Starring Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Betty White
Directed by Anne Fletcher

Synopsis

Manhattan publishing executive Margaret (Sandra Bullock) is a corporate bitch, treating her secretary Andrew (Ryan Reynolds) as her personal slave, until she’s about to be deported back to Canada. She hastily claims to be engaged to Andrew. Hilarity ensues.

The Good

• Despite hitting every single one of my “romantic comedy cliches” there were enough variations that I amazingly didn’t mind. “Boy And Girl Are Very Different” is gender-reversed. “Dogs and Cats” — Andrew’s parents have a white dog who has a surreal run-in with an eagle, and lastly, Betty White plays the “Older Perverted Relative” with a gutsy “I’m too old to care about offending anybody” attitude.
• Several actors involved earned points in my eyes: Although Margaret is an icy witch, Bullock still manages to be funny and ultimately endearing, showing the right amount of heart at key moments to redeem her character. Reynolds is solid, following up Definitely, Maybe. Lastly, Malin Ackerman has a small, simple part that introduces a tiny amount of wistful regret, washing The Watchmen and The Heartbreak Kid from my memory.
• An absolutely ridiculous Ramon character pops up several times, and had me laughing repeatedly — he has four different jobs in Sitka, Alaska, where Andrew’s family lives. I could watch this flick again just for him.

The Bad

• A wholly predictable mish-mash of The Devil Wears Prada, Green Card; you name it. Things completely fall apart around the “boy loses girl” part, and everyone bends over backwards to have the conventional, implausible ending come true.

Conclusion

Yes, The Proposal is a silly, predictable movie, but I found it funnier than it had any right to be. Just as Mickey Rourke had The Wrestler, on a much smaller level: witness the return of Sandra Bullock. And then there’s Ramon (can there be a sequel where he gets deported?). Ha, ha.

IMDB: The Proposal
Wikipedia: The Proposal
Rotten Tomatoes: The Proposal