Tuesday, July 28, 2009

The Proposal (2009)

As many romantic comedies that are out there today, you tend to forget how important chemistry is between an actor and actress. There’s been Astaire & Rogers, Hepburn & Tracy, and now… Bullock & Reynolds? I wouldn’t go quite to that length, but I loved how the two actors worked together in this one. They save what is a not-so-inventive plot.

Andrew (Ryan Reynolds) is an over-worked assistant to a quite cruel, big shot book editor, Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock). When Margaret realizes that she hasn’t updated her Canadian immigration papers, she bribes Andrew into marrying her to avoid deportation. The two then fly to the mystic land of Alaska to meet Andrew’s family to redevelop what is already a strained relationship.

Pretty farfetched, huh? It’s not that the two make the plot plausible, but they make you forget about the silly concept by their reactions to each other and their circumstances. Betty White as Andrew’s grandmother adds a lot of humor and strength to her role, and although the character is way out there, Oscar Nunez from The Office brings life to a supporting role that usually would be forgettable.

Bullock and Reynolds aren’t quite Hepburn & Tracy yet, but if they continue to do movies like screwball comedies of old, they might just make it there. I give The Proposal 3.5 out of 5 nude run-ins.

Side note:
Are “funny” deleted takes during the closing credits becoming too overdone? The ones in this film just don’t make sense and aren’t funny. It almost left a bad taste in my mouth.

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