THE PROPOSAL
Reviewed by Sam Hatch
On paper, just about every element of The Proposal indicates that it should be a crushing failure. Its grossest initial offence is trotting out a crusty premise recycled from countless films and television shows - the old "forced marriage to keep the protagonist from being deported" routine.
Here, that superannuated template is slapped onto an odd-couple romantic comedy tale, and darned if stars Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock don't make it soar. Reynolds portrays Andrew Paxton, a browbeaten office cog forced to kowtow to Bullock's every demonic whim. She plays Maggie Tate, editor-in-chief for a massive publishing house. Andy should quit, but needs to keep smooching Tate's tuchus in the hopes of snagging an editor gig himself.
Maggie is an over the top uberwitch, firing people at whim and propagating an aura of fear in her department. Her employees uniformly despise her, and instant message one another to warn of her fluctuating moods. Andrew is her flip side, an affable charmer who ultimately possesses no flaws apart from a tendency to butt heads with his father. He's cool, collected and great at everything. It goes to show how important casting is, since either of these characters could have annoyed the audience to no end in the wrong hands.
After this brief introduction, the plot device of Maggie's Canadian citizenship is inserted, causing the unlikely pairing of bossy boss and cowering assistant in the name of maintaining their lucrative employment structure. Thankfully, rather than plowing through the ensuing wackiness in their New York stomping grounds, the script (by Pete Chiarelli) wisely whips out the romantic weekend getaway card, relocating the duo to Alaska for a Paxton family gathering.
Their dedication to this ruse is largely driven by the threat of the hard-nosed immigration officer handling their case (Denis O'Hare). He suspects fraud, so the argumentative pair must put aside their differences and put on a good show lest they go to jail. This means announcing their faux engagement to a full house at the Paxtons' palatial lake house.
It seems Andy has more going for him than his day job would have Maggie believe, and thus begins the slow chipping away of her stony demeanor. Riotous antics ensue, including a hawk attack on a fluffy puppy, a deep woods ceremonial Native American dance (mashed up with some hip-hop booty shaking) and an accidental, slippery encounter in the nude.
Mary Steenburgen and Betty White play Andrew's Mother and Gammy respectively, and latch onto Maggie for a number of jaunts into town, including a trip to see Oscar Nunez' sleazy Ramone, the only male stripper (among many other careers) in the region. Andrew spends much of the film being perfect, golfing angrily with his dad (Craig T. Nelson) and bumping into friends from back when. These include a potential wrench in the works named Gertie (Malin Akerman), an old flame who may still carry a torch.
While the script flirts with a serious issue or two during the third act, it avoids the downfall of many a rom-com by keeping the mood playful and refusing to devolve into a tear-jerking drama. The Proposal knows how to deliver feel-good treacle with aplomb, and having Reynolds and Bullock in its corner generates a slam-dunk proposition for a winning date movie.