The Proposal (Sandra Bullock/Ryan Reynolds) : I say "Yes"
Written: Jul 16 '09 (Updated Jul 16 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Bullock, Reynolds, Betty White, and an adorable little doggie.
Cons: No real surprises here.
The Bottom Line: It's a cute romantic comedy. You won't say "Wow!!" but you won't fall asleep, either.
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| ladyconsumer's Full Review: The Proposal |
It's cute. I laughed a few times. I rooted for the couple to get together. And I pretty much knew everything that was going to happen, before it happened. Yup, it's predictable. But it's cute.
I'm talking about The Proposal, a romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds.
Bullock plays Margaret, the big boss at a publishing agency. Reynolds plays Andrew, her executive assistant. She's the boss from hell, universally hated and feared throughout the office. He's sucking up to her, praying for a promotion to editor, and to have his manuscript taken seriously.
She's from Canada and in trouble. Seems she was negligent on her paperwork and is facing deportation. What to do... What to do...?
If you've seen the previews, or you've ever seen a romantic comedy in your life, you know what will happen next. She'll bully Andrew into marrying her, so that she can stay in the country. He'll do it one condition, I'm sure you can figure out what that is.
The rest of movie takes place at Andrew's family's home in Alaska. The couple go there to tell the family of their engagement, and to work on getting to know each other well enough to pass the Immigration scrutiny they'll be facing. Thus we meet Andrew's parents (Craig T. Nelson and Mary Steenburgen) as well as his 90 year old "Gammie" (Betty White).
It all goes pretty much as you'd expect. The family love Margaret and decide they want to hold the wedding that weekend - so that Gammie can be there. And the couple pretend to be in love when they can barely stand each other. And, along the way, things change, and they start to genuinely care for each other. Like we didn't know that was going to happen!
Is this movie funny? Parts of it. There are some cute scenes. Nothing outrageous. Being an animal lover, I thought the scenes with the family dog were pretty cute. Especially as the dog can't stand Margaret and "traps" her in the bathroom. Well, at least as much as a 3 pound ball of fluff could really trap anyone. It was also cute when the couple are asked to tell the story of how he proposed to her, and they take turns telling the story - actually making it up on the fly, of course. Finally, there's stuff that goes on during the ending credits that was pretty funny.
But there were also plenty of scenes that I suspect were supposed to be funny, but simply didn't work for me. Andrew's mother and grandmother take Margaret to a bar, where there's a male erotic dancer. The scene causes Margaret quite a bit of embarrassment as male dancing is not really her cup of tea. I felt her embarrassment, and didn't find it particularly funny. Worse, the scene goes on way too long.
There's another scene where Grandma is dancing in the woods - singing to the spirits, or something like that. Another scene that goes on far too long.
Still, overall, it's a fairly enjoyable movie. The characters are fun and, for the most part, likable. Even Margaret, who starts out on a bad note, has a soft side that eventually comes through. The performances were good, and both main stars are easy on the eyes. Betty White is always fun to see. The scenery is absolutely gorgeous, and the dog was about the cutest little pup you can imagine.
See it if you like romantic comedies and don't mind complete predictability. My feeling is that it's just a little bit better than average. If I could give 3.5 stars, I would. But I'll bump it up for the cute dog and gorgeous scenery.
Recommended:
Yes
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ladyconsumer
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