‘The Proposal’ is a boy meets girl, boy hates girl kind of love
story
”
The Proposal,
”
written by Pete Chiarelli and directed by Anne Fletcher, is not
a new story. In fact, I’d have to count all my fingers and toes to
track all the times I’ve seen the plot before. Here’s a synopsis of
the common story: boy meets girl. Boy and girl don’t like each
other. But for someone reason
– money, a job, family pressure to be in a relationship or an
attempt to make an ex jealous – boy and girl decide to pretend to
be a couple. Somewhere along the line boy and girl start to like
each other and the pretending ends.
‘The Proposal’ is a boy meets girl, boy hates girl kind of love story
“The Proposal,” written by Pete Chiarelli and directed by Anne Fletcher, is not a new story. In fact, I’d have to count all my fingers and toes to track all the times I’ve seen the plot before. Here’s a synopsis of the common story: boy meets girl. Boy and girl don’t like each other. But for someone reason – money, a job, family pressure to be in a relationship or an attempt to make an ex jealous – boy and girl decide to pretend to be a couple. Somewhere along the line boy and girl start to like each other and the pretending ends.
In movies like this, there are a few given scenes that can be expected. Boy and girl will at some point be expected to share a room together, which will lead to one of them sleeping on the floor and an awkward scantily clad encounter. They will also be expected to kiss in front of a crowd of friends, family or coworkers, and halfway through, the fake smooch will become a real one. And just as they are starting to realize that they love each other, one or the other will run away and the person left behind will have to make some grand gesture – such as following them to the airport to confess their true feelings.
That is pretty much the plot for “What Happens in Vegas,” “Green Card,” “The Wedding Date,” “Drive Me Crazy,” and countless other movies – both comedies and dramas.
Even with the predictability factor stacked against it, “The Proposal” turned out to be quite a funny and enjoyable movie.
Props definitely go to Sandra Bullock who is great at romantic comedy and a pro at playing characters who discover themselves along the way. Her role as Margaret in “The Proposal” is not so different from her turn as Gracie Hart in “Miss Congeniality,” as Lucy in “While You Were Sleeping,” or even as Diane Farrow in the first Bullock movie I ever saw, “Love Potion No. 9.” Each of the movies is one in which a woman is so set in her ways, she doesn’t realize what she’s missing in life but eventually discovers how to be happy with herself, and falls in love along the way.
In the film, Bullock plays Margaret Tate, an uptight book editor who scares everyone in the office with her ruthless attitude. Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds) is her executive assistant, who has aspirations of being an author and an editor himself. Andrew has been killing himself for three years in hopes of a promotion.
When Margaret, a Canadian, finds out her work visa has expired and will not be renewed, she quickly comes up with a way to stay in the country. She tells her boss that she and Andrew are engaged so she can file for a fiancee visa. Of course, things in a romantic comedy are never that easy. When the two go to the immigration office, the agent calls them on the sham engagement and warns Andrew of the jail time and fines he would face if the arrangement turns out to be fake.
To prove their relationship is real, the two head to Andrew’s family home – in Alaska – for his grandmother’s 90th birthday. This, of course, is where the real funny stuff begins.
Reynolds does his best acting when required to look dazed and confused, and that happens a lot in this movie, to his benefit. Bullock, however, knows how to command a comedy and she is helped along by veteran comedy actors Betty White, who plays Andrew’s Grandma Annie, and Mary Steenburgen as Andrew’s mother Mary. The three ladies have some of the funniest and most heartfelt scenes on screen, as they prepare Margaret for her wedding day. Reynolds has his own heartfelt scene with Craig T. Nelson as his father Joe Paxton, but their fight over Andrew’s responsibility to the family business is under-whelming.
Unlike most romantic comedies, writer Chiarelli did a decent job of explain the character’s behavior and motivations. By the end of the movie, viewers have an understanding of why Margaret is so rigid and focused on work, and why Andrew was willing to put up with her for so long.
Even though the movie is predictable, it is a satisfying watch.
