Familiar Proposal a Slightly Amusing Engagement
Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) is the boss from hell. An amazing editor working for one of the largest publishing firms in New York she’s known for running the staff ragged, so demanding she even forces her executive assistant Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds) to miss his grandmother Annie’s (Betty White) 90th birthday so he can work through the weekend with her.
Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock work out their differences in Touchstone Pictures' The Proposal
Or maybe not. Turns out Margaret is Canadian and her work visa has expired and the company is on the verge of having to let her go unless she finds someway to stay in the U.S. With a wave of her hand she decides to force Andrew to marry her, coming up with a suitable deal – including a promotion to editor himself – to get him to go along.
Suddenly the pair is sitting in a boat on an Alaskan lake on their way to spend the weekend with Andrew’s parents Grace (Mary Steenburgen) and Joe (Craig T. Nelson) to celebrate Annie’s birthday, announcing their sham engagement to the shock, awe and amusement of all. But as the day gets closer both begin to have second thoughts. More than that, they begin to discover there is more to the other person involved in this deception than they first thought, their love becoming less a lie the longer the charade lasts.
There is nothing new about The Proposal. Pete Chiarelli’s first produced screenplay doesn’t offer much of anything original, the second half in particular following the standard romantic comedy template pretty much to the letter. Yet for a while there I was completely taken by director Anne Fletcher’s (27 Dresses, Step Up) latest candy-coated confectionary treat, and even with all the familiarity I found it awfully difficult to detest almost any of it.
But just because I didn’t loathe any of the film doesn’t mean I always liked it, either. Once the plot mechanics click in and the clichés start rolling one after the other my interest couldn’t help but wane. More, there are definite pacing problems during the final third, much of it dragged out nearly to the point of boredom. It also doesn’t help that, while it is fairly easy to see why Margaret could fall for Andrew, I can’t exactly say I felt the same about this relationship’s mirror image, the script not giving us enough of her transformation to embrace the young man's change of heart.
Thankfully, what the plot lacks the two stars go above and beyond trying to make up for it. Their chemistry is surprisingly potent when they are together, the pair’s aggressively narcissistic banter funny and fresh in all of the right ways. More, why they don’t appear to shy away from the age difference between them they also do not make an issue out of it, a fact I admit to finding delightful.
Am I huge fan then of the finished product? No, not really, but I am sold on Bullock and Reynolds making more movies together. I also am perfectly happy to admit how much I enjoyed the first couple of acts and that, even though it ran out of steam, I never once felt like it was a chore or a burden to stay in my theater seat. The Proposal isn’t an engagement I’d seal with a kiss or anything, but it’s hardly the bad, brutal break-up it probably, at least on paper, maybe should have been.
Film Rating: êê1/2 (out of 4)
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