The Proposal Review
By Karen Dahlstrom
Trite Wedding
Romantic comedies have become so formulaic that someone should pass out a checklist or a bingo card with every movie ticket. Sassy-mouthed grandma? Check! Weirdo supporting character? Check! Pivotal wedding scene? Check! These cliches and more are riddled throughout "The Proposal" — another forgettable, paint-by-numbers romantic comedy, marginally saved only by the comedic talents of the film's leads.
Ryan Reynolds plays Andrew ("Drew") Paxton, the long-suffering executive assistant of Margaret (no nickname) Tate (Sandra Bullock) — a no-nonsense book editor with a personality as spiky as her 4" stiletto heels. Much like Bullock's character in "Two Weeks Notice" (ironically), Drew is subjected to unreasonable demands, late nights and canceled vacations at the hands of his self-centered boss. Margaret's reputation as a dragon lady is, in part, perpetuated by Drew, who sends mass instant messages to co-workers to keep them apprised of her foul moods.
Plagued with visa problems, Margaret (a Canadian) blackmails Drew into marrying her so she can stay in the country. With promises of a quickie divorce and a big promotion, Drew reluctantly agrees. Before they can convince a suspicious INS agent (Denis O'Hare) that their engagement is real, they must endure a weekend with Drew's family in Alaska to celebrate his grandma's 90th birthday.
Big-city/small-town folk colliding? Check! Margaret arrives in Sitka with a lot of baggage — of both the emotional and the designer kind — as Drew's "Gammy Annie" (Betty White) is quick to point out. Drew has his own troubles, particularly his strained relationship with his father (Craig T. Nelson). Happiest about the engagement is Drew's mother, Grace (played by the eternally lovely Mary Steenburgen), who hopes a wedding will somehow bring her family closer together. Drew's grandmother eventually warms to the idea as well, even (in one of the film's most painfully silly and unfunny moments) performing Native American rites to insure the couple's fertility.
Pretending to be lovers doesn't come all that easy to Drew and Margaret at first, who spend much of their time exchanging witty, pointed banter (Witty banter? Check!) until the inevitable change of heart. Until then, there are meddlers, misunderstandings and misconceptions. To make all this folderol more palatable, director Anne Fletcher ("
27 Dresses") throws in a comic nude scene, some weepy confessionals and an adorable puppy (check, check, and check!).
With their keen comic timing and surprising chemistry, Reynolds and Bullock inject life and genuine humor into Pete Chiarelli's hackneyed script. Toning down the manic mugging of his "Van Wilder" days, Reynolds has become a much more subtle comedic actor, while Bullock seems to have regained much of her spark from "While You Were Sleeping". It's a shame the pair weren't given better material to work with, but it's interesting to watch them try to make a silk purse from a sow's ear.
