Movie Review - The Proposal (2009)

Starring Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Craig T. Nelson, Mary Steenburgen, Malin Ackerman, and Betty White
Written by Peter Chiarelli
Directed by Anne Fletcher

I always kind of thought Sandra Bullock was attractive. Ever since Speed, I always liked her personality onscreen and off, despite the fact that she really hasn't starred in a bunch of good movies. So, I'll be completely honest here...I was looking forward to seeing this movie for some strange reason.

Bullock is Margaret Tate, an editor at a prestigious New York publishing company who is loathed and feared by all her employees. Her assistant Andrew (Ryan Reynolds) puts up with her only because he longs to be an editor someday and also wants a manuscript of his published. Maggie gets some awful news and is told that she is being deported back to Canada because her visa has expired. On the fly, Maggie announces that she and Andrew are marrying each other. A reluctant Andrew agrees only because Maggie agrees to help him advance in his career. In order to learn more about each other (and to prove to the INS agent that they truly are a couple), they travel to Andrew's hometown in Alaska (because things are always funnier when it's cold) and meet his wacky relatives.

The worst part of the film (and I must allow my fellow moviegoer to take credit for this) is that Maggie becomes a complete dunce as soon as she steps on the plane to Alaska. She can't wheel her luggage around; she can't walk down a ladder; she can't walk in high heels. Somehow, moving Maggie out of her "comfort zone" of NYC makes her turn into this completely idiotic bitch rather than just a complete bitch. That being said, that was really my only problem with the flick.

I actually felt like there was some chemistry between Bullock and Reynolds and both of them were perfectly fine in their roles -- even though I despised the idiocy of Bullock's character, that's not her fault. Reynolds was quite good and provided quite a bit of laughs with his dry sense of humor. The supporting cast was also certainly above par -- Craig T. Nelson (Coach!) and Mary Steenburgen were both fine as Andrew's parents, and Betty White is always a joy to watch (even if she was given some awful lines to spout). In addition, there's an amusing turn from Oscar Nuñez (best known from tv's The Office) as a jack of all trades in the small Alaskan town.

I did discover a new cinematic crush while watching this film. Joining the club that currently has Amy Adams as a member is Malin Ackerman. She plays Gertrude, Andrew's ex-girlfriend, who still holds a special place in his heart. This relationship between Andrew and Gertrude was actually a very pleasant surprise. Typically ex-girlfriends are simply portrayed as "desperate to get back their man," but this relationship was actually quite sweet.

I could certainly have just been dumb, but I wasn't quite sure where the film was headed at the end...Andrew could have easily ended up with either Maggie or Gertrude or neither. I won't spoil it for you here. The fact that it wasn't spelled out completely ahead of time was definitely nice.

Now, the movie's not perfect. Many laughs fall flat, and, like I said above, Maggie's character is pretty godawful. But, overall, it's an adequate romantic comedy.

The RyMickey Rating: C