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What it’s about:
Margaret (Sandra Bullock) is a prominent and domineering New York book editor who forces her poor assistant Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds) into marrying her. In the country illegally, Margaret not only faces deportation back to Canada, but she’ll lose her job too. Andrew reluctantly agrees to the scheme and, in an effort to avoid speculation from a nosy INS agent (Denis O'Hare), they set off to Andrew’s hometown of Sitka, Alaska, to meet his parents (Mary Steenburgen and Craig T. Nelson) and his quirky grandmother Annie (Betty White). Soon city girl Margaret finds herself in all sorts of unfamiliar situations.
What we thought:
If you’re thinking that this is just yet another rom-com, then you must be hating love. Call me a sucker for romance, if you like, but a romantic comedy that can be both funny without sacrificing its intelligence is something to be cherished. The Proposal is probably one of the funniest romantic comedies of the year thus far with Bullock playing the feisty sweetheart we’ve seen before, but this time, she’s actually upped the 'bitch' factor somewhat. If you loved her in The Lakehouse and Two Week’s Notice, then you’ll love her here. Bullock, who has been out of the spotlight for two years now, is also on board as an executive producer and this is a great way to showcase her strengths as an actress.
Poor Andrew (Ryan Reynolds) is an aspiring writer who assumed that by working for Margaret, the best editor in New York, he’d be granted the opportunity to make it as a writer. How wrong was he? Little did he know that his PMSing boss would turn out to be a loathsome, psycho slave-driver. With her designer everything, she is like a princess version of Meryl Streep’s character in the Devil Wears Prada. In many ways, The Proposal sees Bullock revisit the boss vs employee tension in Two Week’s Notice, but this time the gender roles have been reversed.
Reynolds, who is evolving into a more sophisticated version of Matthew McConaughey, brings along his dependable knack for quirky, bone-dry humour, as he did in Adventureland and, of course, the man otherwise known as Mr Scarlett Johansson, is extremely easy on the eye. You can’t help but root for him and, like Margaret, perhaps fall for him too.
Throw in Andrew’s chalk and cheese parents and the scene-stealing antics of his whacky "Grammy" (Golden Girls' Betty White) and you have the perfect formula for rom-com bliss.
Yes, most romantic comedies don’t really have anything new to say, and yes, you can probably guess how it’s all going to turn out for the characters, but it’s the warm-hearted assurance that these types of movies convey that make them such winners. It’s the fiery on-screen chemistry between Bullock and Reynolds that makes this a must-see, and no doubt The Proposal will be one of those movies featured as "girls' night in" favourites for a long time to come.
