The Proposal

Director: Anne Fletcher
Writer: Peter Chiarelli
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds
Release Date: June 19, 2009
  Length: 1 hour 48 minutes

From Anne Fletcher, director of Step Up and 27 Dresses comes a more likable film to a wider audience range, The Proposal.  When Margaret, a pushy type-A senior editor who works at a publishing company in New York, goes into a meeting with her boss, she finds out she is being deported back to her home country Canada. When her young good-looking American assistant of 3 years – oh so conveniently - interrupts the meeting at that very moment. Margaret attempts to solves her problem by claiming her assistant as her new fiancé on the spot. After going to the immigration offices, they are suspiciously told there will be interviews to learn how much they know about each other, in case they are committing a federal crime – which wouldn’t you know it, they are. Andrew knows everything there is to possibly know about Margaret, but because she doesn’t know anything about him, they go to his hometown in Alaska for his grandmother’s birthday for the weekend. Soon they discover that their relationship may not be just a working  affiliation any longer – again how convenient. Putting aside the fact that its slightly hard to believe Andrew would lie to his entire family and have them go through with thinking they’re actually getting married, The Proposal is harmless, meaning cute and completely unrealistic but you won’t whine about it. The film makes up for it with the laughs assuming you can put up with the clichés. The two main stars Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock share great chemistry – both in comedy and in romance. Without Bullock and Reynolds this movie would definitely not be as enjoyable. The scenes that take place in Alaska where the film shows how Margaret doesn’t fit in to Andrew’s family’s life style vaguely resembles the same theme in “The Family Stone”. That was a well-done romantic comedy that came out in 2006, with Sarah Jessica Parker in the Sandra Bullock-like role. Both films also had Craig T. Nelson as the father. Betty White as Andrew’s grandma can either be perceived as annoying or adorable. My opinion changed from scene to scene. All in all, people will enjoy this movie depending on what your tolerance level is for the cliché’s. A bit ridiculous…but pretty enjoyable.