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Bookmark this pageThe Proposal (2009)
Director: Anne Fletcher
Synopsis
Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock head-up this romantic comedy, with the latter as a company boss with Visa issues and the former her impressionable lackey whom she intends to marry to get a green card.
Movie review
From Time Out London
They may as well have called this one ‘Mis-Matched Sham Wedding Comedy’ for all the effort it makes to shake new life out of a tattered genre. Sandra Bullock (below) is ball-busting New York publishing editor Margaret Tate, whose sadistic way with her colleagues shows up both her utter wretchedness as a human being and the inherent inequalities of American employment law. Ryan Reynolds plays her nice-guy assistant Andrew Paxton, happy to accept her exploitative manner in the hope that it may lead to his eventual promotion. Yet, Margaret is Canadian, and due to a foul-up at the immigration department, the threat of deportation looms if she is unable to prove to Homeland Security that she’s married to a Yank. Knowing that Andrew’s good for it, she coerces him to pose as her husband and in order to reinforce the deception, the pair head to the scenic Alaskan heartlands for Grammy Paxton’s ninetieth.Despite sporadically amusing performances from the two leads, this ticks all the same boxes as films like ‘Green Card’, ‘Meet the Parents’ and ‘The Devil Wears Prada’, including a perpetuation of the myth that inside every ruthless, independently minded businesswoman lies a fragile fawn just waiting to be drawn out by some buff, liberal drone. And what with this unfolding in Sarah Palin country, we’re also reminded that marriage is not something to be used to circumvent justice but a cherished gift from God. Also, the much-touted nude scene, in which Reynolds and Bullock readily engage in a game of full-frontal blind man’s buff, is about as sexy (and not to mention plausible) as Babs Windsor’s catapulting bikini top in ‘Carry on Camping’.
Author: David Jenkins
Time Out London issue 2031, July 23-29, 2009
User reviews of this film
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- Verity said...
- Posted on Jul 30 2009 13:01 I have never laughed so in my life! This film is so funny, I was off of my seat and crying with laughter on the floor. Some bits are really sweet and romantic but0 the rest of the bits are Giggle Fit Filled! i recommend this film to anyone with a sence of humour! A Bundle of Laughs!
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- Becki20 said...
- Posted on Jul 29 2009 16:58 Its a great film, im going to watch it again!
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- Amanda said...
- Posted on Jul 29 2009 10:26 We went to see this film on our Anniversary 26th which is Sandra Bullocks 46th Birthday. We thought it was real funny. Enjoyed it very much and laughed a lot, would go and see it again.
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- Richard said...
- Posted on Jul 28 2009 23:45 My partner and I decided to go to the pictures on a miserable wet afternoon, and as there wasn't anything else we wanted to see, this seemed the least worst choice. But we were soon delighted to find it was very good indeed. Sandra Bullock and her opposite number play very well against each other, and the landcape of Alaska in summer was enchanting. Of course there was going to be a happy ending - what else d'you expect? - but there were many unexpected twists It was a thoroughly intelligent film, never unpleasant or over-sexy, and the nude scene was genuinely funny and not at all out of place. The whole case was excellent, and there were some genuinely touching moments. I am recommending this film to all my friends - some of whom are highbrow movie buffs like myself!
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- Gypsy said...
- Posted on Jul 28 2009 12:49 Have had a soft spot for Miss B. - but after reading some bad reviews went with an air of apprehension. Which was soon dispelled. It's been a long time since I cried whilst watching a comedy. Brilliantly funny, not one schmaltzy moment. With such a diverse crowd in the (packed) cinema, I must conclude that it would take a tin man like creature NOT to enjoy this film. An absolute must.
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- carobroo said...
- Posted on Jul 27 2009 11:06 expected it to be pretty awful after bad reviews from the critics so nearly didn't go. Thoroughly enjoyed it and laughed a great deal. Don't be put off by bad reviews
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- Helen said...
- Posted on Jul 25 2009 23:44 All i can say, it was absolutley hillarious,well worth seeing, a must see film.All the cast were fabulous. love love loved it!!!
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- Natalie said...
- Posted on Jul 25 2009 18:22 This was absolutely hilarious one of the funniest films i have ever seen :P x
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- Rads said...
- Posted on Jul 25 2009 12:46 absolutely hilarious..............U WILL HAV a LAUGH..
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- John Cooper said...
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Posted on Jul 25 2009 10:26
Let's get one thing straight right way, Sandra Bullock
is gorgeous and it's worth the price of a ticket just to see
her. The only thing wrong with the nude scene is that
it's too short and we don't see enough of Ms Bullock,
who, at 44, even allowing for Hollywood lighting, looks
terrific and adds credibility to a storyline in which the male lead is considerably younger. . .. Moreover the film
has a subtlety which has by-passed a lot of the cynical
critics, who hate to see the continued success of this
mainstream American actress . . .. . whose performances
manage to save whateveer film she 's in . . . eg Hope
Floats where she gives a terrific performance which almost saves the film from too much American sentiment. The Proposal is a similar vehicle . . but
more successful in terms of avoiding the `gush` factor.
The Alaskan setting helps to earth the film in terms of
realism, and, like Pride and Prejudice, the romantic
heroine starts to fall for the romantic lead when she finds out how rich he is . . .. although, as in Pride and
Prejudice, this is ironic, rather than an accurate statement on the character's integrity. For me, the film
has more in common with Jane Austen's classic than it
does with any `Carry on Film` . The Proposal, is by no
means an entirely satisfying film, but it deserves more
praise from the critics than it is getting.It was interesting to learn that Quentin Tarantino liked it. - Report as inappropriate
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- Jenny said...
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Posted on Jul 25 2009 06:53
I took three fourteen year old boys and my ten year old daughter along with me to see this on a rainy afternoon and the cinema was full. I haven't been to a film in a long time when there were so many people, men, women and children, laughing out loud in film. Ignore the cynical critics - yes of course we know the film is a variation on a well used theme, but this one is a superior romantic comedy and both leads act really well and have chemistry between them. I would thoroughly recommend this film - it's a real tonic with genuine laugh out loud moments but also real pathos - I admit that at one point I cried..
Definitely recommended. - Report as inappropriate
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- Caroline said...
- Posted on Jul 23 2009 09:30 HIGHLY recommended. Best romcom of 2009 so far. Sandra Bullock is at her comic best. This movie is heartwarming, tear-jerking and hilarious. Bullock and Reynolds are perfectly matched on screen. See this movie and leave the cinema on a high.
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- sam said...
- Posted on Jul 22 2009 18:59 me and my girlfriend loved it was so funny i would go and see it agian go and see the film you will laugh so hard
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- katie said...
- Posted on Jul 22 2009 18:57 it was so funny i fall off my seat
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- Jo said...
- Posted on Jul 22 2009 18:43 Loved this- ignore the po faced Lit.Crit timeout review , this a RomCom for God's sake, not bloody Ingmar Berman! The audience (mainly women of all ages , the odd bloke) really enjoyed it. I don't generally like this genre as I can't stand Julia Roberts & Kate Hudson - far too annoying, but I do have a soft spot for Sandra. The two leads are credible as there is such good chemistry between them. The film well acted, humourous and their are tender parts that had practically the entire audience sniffling away. Yes, the basic premise is nothing new, but aren't there supposed to be only seven universal storylines anyway? So what if it is predictable , it is thoroughly entertaining. A perfect choice for a matinee showing with or without friends.
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Cast & crew
Director: Anne Fletcher
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Mary Steenburgen, Craig T Nelson, Betty White, Denis O'Hare, Malin Akerman, Oscar Rosander, Aasif Mandvi full cast
Genre(s): Romance
Rated: 12A
Duration: 108 mins
UK Release: Jul 22 2009
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