2 ½ out of 5 by Mike DiGiorgio
The idea behind The Proposal’s been done a few hundred times, so if it’s going to work it has to have the right people and the right setting. And they got it half right.
The right people are Sandra Bullock’s Margaret and Ryan Reynolds’ Andrew. Bullock’s gone through the motions of romantic comedy before, but it’s been awhile and this is her first May-December romantic comedy (is she now a cougar?). She’s a Canadian in danger of deportation, who in a moment of desperation, makes a deal with her executive assistant to marry her in exchange for a promotion.
She plays a pretty convincing ice queen at work (they call her “it”), and only shows that Sandra Bullock Cute Streak when she starts to thaw. She’s said this could be the end of her romantic comedy career, and in a way, she’s passing the torch to Reynolds. He gets the biggest laughs simply through his reactions to the situation he’s gotten into. They have some funny moments together – including Bullock’s first ever nude scene.
Unfortunately, The Proposal makes the huge mistake of leaving the office environment and heading up to Alaska. That’s where Andrew is from, and the bulk of the movie is about Margaret and Andrew’s visit up north trying to convince his family that they’re really engaged.
Their biggest concern should be immigration, not Andrew’s 90 year old grandma (Betty White, who’s been funnier in promoting this movie than she is in the actual film). I didn’t see any reason why they couldn’t tell someone in the family what they were up to and ask that confidante to help them out a little. Instead of a workplace romance between two people who know each other so well, what we end up with is a diluted Sweet Home Alabama.