Strong Beginning, Predictible Middle, Weak Ending
Written: Jul 22 '09
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Product Rating:
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| Bang For The Buck |
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Pros: The first 30 minutes
Cons: The rest of the 60 minutes
The Bottom Line: Rent the DVD, gather some good girl friend, open a bottle of wine, and enjoy the first 30 minutes
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| paxromana's Full Review: The Proposal |
How did you guess that this is a romantic comedy? Is it the poster, where Sandra Bullock holds the ring before a terrified Ryan Reynolds? Is it the fact that it is a non-action film released in summer? Or is it the title? Well, whatever made you guessed that this is one of those films where family, love and happiness are all tie up in a lovely bow in the end, then you’ve guessed right!
The storyline is rather simple (though any lawyer can spot the blatant legal impossibilities and mistakes): Bullock is a high-power demanding editor (think “Devil Wears Prada” with less fashion), with Reynolds being her servant-like assistant of 3 years. Bullock is a Canadian whose visa has expired, and suddenly faces the prospect of being deported. How to save herself from such legal and career disaster? Why, get married, of course. Because then she will be entitled to a green card, i.e. residency in US. She and Reynolds reached an arrangement where he will marry her, while she will promote him to editor. Even though I am ignorant of immigration law, the lawyer in me just knows this plan is fundamentally flawed from the beginning. But in romantic comedy world nothing bad can ever happen to anyone (not even to the insignificant supporting cast), so why allow such minor details related to reality intrude upon this rosy world? The couple visits Reynolds’ problem-free-made-for-movies family in Alaska for a long weekend. Add some fights, boating accidents, misunderstandings, sharing of childhood memories, funny moments with dog/eagle/blackberry, a kiss or two, shake it a little, pour into a martini glass, and viola, a tasty “romantic comedy” for you.
The film opens with a rather refreshing first act, where the power dynamics between a female boss and her male assistant juxtaposes against the more non-traditional situation of a woman proposing to man, creating genuinely funny moments (whereby if you are in a theatre filled with women, the laughter at times will be so loud that you can’t hear the dialogue). The actual proposal scene is a classic, I must admit. The second act concentrates on Reynolds’ family and his personal struggle (pursue dreams in NYC on his own or return to Alaska to inherit family business). Unfortunately, the family dynamics are simply too unrealistic and such inner struggle not at all convincing that this critic was bored out of her wits. The third and final act is where the lovers (yes, they fall in love, how else would this be a “romantic” comedy if they don’t) sacrifices for each other ever so selflessly. I don’t know about others, but I for one wasn’t not at all touched, not even by the I-love-you speech towards the end (will not reveal who said what to whom), rather I was thinking how this film loses steam and originality with each passing act to end on such a predictable note.
The acting is…well…marginally passable. I think the casting is quite right on the money, but given the limitation of the screenplay, neither Bullock nor Reynolds could rise above the meager materials to express genuine emotions. The supporting cast, on the other hand, only exists for the sake of comedy relief and momentary transition that I find them at best acceptable and at worst annoying. Not one character stands out or leaves a memorable impression; they all blend into the beautiful CG-generated Alaska backdrop seamlessly.
Recommended:
No
Movie Mood: Date Movie
Viewing Method: Other
Film Completeness: A few glitches, but mostly complete.
Worst Part of this Film: Script
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Epinions.com ID:
paxromana
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Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 3 members
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