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Bullock, Reynolds deserve better ‘Proposal’
To the proposal of Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds as a couple, I give a heartfelt “I do.”
To the kind of middling movie they’re in, The Proposal, I give a half-hearted, “Well, I guess you’re sort of OK.”
The movie is one of those pleasant but innocuous, predictable comedies that’s a lot more enjoyable than it ought to be thanks to the sheer charisma of the two leads. Bullock and Reynolds double-handedly make The Proposal worth seeing, even if the movie is only passable.
Bullock and Reynolds star as Margaret and Andrew, a book editor and her forever put-upon guy Friday. She’s the sort of no-nonsense shrew that scares men and women away, while he always looks like he’s ready to break into a chorus of “We Gotta Get Out of This Place.”
However, when Margaret, a Canadian, is threatened with deportation and the prospect of losing her job, she blackmails Andrew into marrying her. In return, Andrew blackmails Margaret into promising him the promotion he has always wanted.
So far, so good. It’s a clever idea for a romantic comedy. Then our charming couple heads to Alaska to meet Andrew’s family, a well-to-do Kennedy-esque clan that struck me as the dumbest people on earth.
Bullock and Reynolds’ play-acting at being a real couple was so obviously fake, I kept wondering why no one except the sniggering immigration agent saw through the ruse. The screenplay by Pete Chiarelli tries to give the family some depth by creating a rift between Andrew and his dad, played by Craig T. Nelson. That was a good idea - so why not go a step further and have the dad be the one who sees that these two aren’t a real couple?
That never happens. Instead, Andrew’s family and friends turn out to be the kind of zany, fun-loving dim bulbs straight from the textbook of Romantic Comedies 101, right down to the male stripper who turns out to be the town storekeeper. Har-de-har-har.
Betty White is reduced to playing the daffy old grandma, but since she’s Betty White, she’s funny anyway. However, that does lead to a lame scene where she and Bullock dance in Native American costumes in the woods, which leads to Bullock singing Lil’ Jon’s “Get Low.” You know, the song about sweat dripping down a body part women don’t possess? Anatomically, anyway?
Sorry, Sandra. Chris Rock did that joke first, and he was funnier than you.
Sill, I have to give Bullock credit - she does a good job melting from the ice queen to her usual winning persona. Reynolds was who blindsided me, though. The actor has now starred in three romance-related movies (Definitely, Maybe; Adventureland and this one) and he was very good in all of them. I used to cringe at his name in the Van Wilder days, but now I actually look forward to seeing him. That’s quite a transformation.
The central question for any romantic comedy is, “Do I want this guy and this girl to end up together?” And for Bullock and Reynolds, the answer is definitely yes. For The Proposal as a whole, it’s more definitely maybe.
GRADE: B-
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