REVIEW: The Proposal (2009)
The Proposal
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 107 minutes
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds.
My rating: 3 stars
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Plain and simple, here's the deal: The Proposal is very funny at times, very slow at others and is nothing more than a run-of-the-mill romantic comedy. I liked it. You will like it. No one will remember anything about it a year from now.
Was that simple enough?
I will say I had severe doubts about this one, but when a friend wanted to go to dinner and a movie, I thought, Well, I at least can get some decent food first. And, of course, see my friend. Now that I think of it, I probably should have put seeing my friend ahead of eating food. I'm a fatty at heart.
I'm getting off track. I think I know why this movie is exactly what you expect, and I don't have much more to say about it. Eh, that's a little too simplified. I was not expecting Oscar Nunez as Ramone, the Alaskan stripper, store clerk, priest and any other odd job needed. It was a hilarious surprise.
I was also surprised at liking Sandra Bullock. For the first time, she seemed believably nasty and sweet. Ryan Reynolds is slowly turning into a versatile actor with Adventureland, X-Men Origins: Wolverine and now The Proposal all this year. Perhaps Scarlett Johansson is rubbing off on him. They're chemistry was both surprising and great.
And let's talk about Betty White as Grandma Annie. White is hilarious every moment on screen, producing roaring laughter throughout the theater. She's the sweet-looking old lady who just wants her grandson (Reynolds) to be happy.
The plot is barely worth recapping, but I suppose.... Margaret Tate (Bullock) is a high-powered book editor living in New York. Andrew Paxton (Reynolds) is her assistant. Tate, a Canadian, is about to be deported and, in order to save her job, must get married. She plans an elaborate hoax wedding with Paxton to fool the INS agent and stay in the US. Their arrangement takes them to Paxton's family in Alaska.
And there you have it nothing more than a basic set-up to a basic romantic comedy.
The problems come with taking the audience out of it's comfort zone, especially when Grandma Annie inexplicably adorns tribal wear and dances around a fire, coaxing Tate to do the same. Um, what? The entire scene, while somewhat funny, was out of place in the film. It seems that should have been left at the cutting room floor.
There were a few unnecessarily long necessary dramatic pauses as the audience learns more about Paxton's background like that he's rich and doesn't get along with his father (Craig T. Nelson). It's supposed to get us to feel something for these people. We all already know these characters from every other romantic comedy, so those scenes don't seem to matter or work. I mean, is there ever a romantic comedy with characters, no matter how hard the exterior, are actually bad people? No.
Here's another deal: I think this movie is worth watching if you like romantic comedies. It's not the best of the year, but the humor is clean, funny and enjoyable for 20-somethings on up to the 80-year-olds. They were all represented in my theater viewing.
My suggestion: take a date and get dinner out of it. If you're a woman reading this, at least it's a free dinner and a movie. If your a man reading this, I'm sorry I just cost you $50-75, and I hope she appreciates it.
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Where it's playing:
Canton/PotsdamSHOWTIMES
Watertown SHOWTIMES
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