The Proposal

The Proposal


"For three years, Andrew Paxton has slaved as the assistant to Margaret Tate, hard-driving editor at a New York publisher. When Margaret, a Canadian, faces deportation for an expired visa, she hatches a scheme to marry Andrew - he agrees if she'll promise a promotion. A skeptical INS agent vows to test the couple about each other the next Monday. Andrew had plans to fly home that weekend for his grandma's 90th, so Margaret goes with him - to Sitka, Alaska - where mom, dad, and grams await. Family dynamics take over: tensions between dad and Andrew, an ex-girlfriend, Andrew's dislike of Margaret, and her past color the next few days, with the INS ready to charge Andrew with fraud."


2.5 stars

So, let me explain something to you. I have been in love with Sandra Bullock for quite some time now. Ever since I saw “While You Were Sleeping” I knew that one day she would be my wife. And she held out a long time for me (trust me the Jesse James thing ain’t gonna last). For this reason, I will go to see absolutely ANY movie that she is in, no matter how mundane it looks. And coincidentally enough, I’m actually a fan of Ryan Reynolds too (I am already anticipating the gay joke, so don’t even bother). I have seen most of the stuff that he has been in and, in my opinion, he’s one of the better actors of his generation. So, you would think The Proposal would get me all excited. It should be a beautiful convergence of my future wife, one of my favorite actors, and the romantic comedy genre that is my guilty pleasure. Even with all of this, I wasn’t expecting too much from this movie and man did they deliver on that.

The movie isn’t good. That’s not to say that it’s bad, it’s just not good (the word ‘meh’ comes to mind). If you saw the preview, you pretty much could write the movie. It just takes you through the motions of a typical romantic comedy and ends as expectedly as you might, well, expect (my 8th grade English teacher is rolling over in her grave right now). If you’re looking for something easy and light on a Sunday night, then this movie would be adequate.

My only real beef with the movie is the hypocrisy. A Romantic Comedy, by definition, is supposed to tout romance and the power of love but, in my opinion, this film cheapens it. It basically says that if you throw any guy and girl together for a weekend they can fall in love enough to get married. Really? And it’s not even that fantasy that some people have of meeting someone, having a whirlwind romance, and getting married on the spur of the moment. Literally at 12:00 PM on Sunday the couple loathes each other and at 8:00 that evening they decide they are meant to be together. Again I ask, really? Don’t get me wrong, and this may sound weird, but the movie would have been much better if it were a dark comedy. The story briefly touches on Sandra’s abandonment issues and Ryan’s Oedipus complex with his father. There actually was a lot of meat there that, if it had been explored, might have made for some interesting story telling. But, alas, that’s not the angle they were going for. So, the movie is just adequate.

One saving grace that I might give it is the setting, the entire movie was shot on location in Alaska and the scenery is just amazing. I sometimes found myself ignoring what the actors were saying and just focusing on the picturesque landscape.

Fans of The Office might get excited to see Oscar as the town’s only erotic dancer. But their excitement would quickly fade as his performance feels very forced and simply not funny. Let’s be honest, this movie is a 2 star movie at best. BUT, because of Sandy I am bumping it up to a 2.5.