The Proposal(2009)- User Reviews

Margaret Tate is a pushy boss who forces her dedicated assistant, Andrew Paxton, to marry her to keep her from getting deported back to Canada. Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds are at the top of their game here, for The Proposal is the best movie I've seen either one of them in. Sure, we've seen similar stories in romantic comedies before, but director Anne Fletcher and writer Pete Chiarelli add something called substance to the picture. There is more conflict and emotion here than in any romantic comedy I've seen in a long while, and on top of that, it is very funny. Ryan Reynold's facial expression alone when his character, Andrew, is first told by Margaret that they are getting married had me laughing out loud. Of course, there is a scene or two of pure silliness put in the movie specifically for Sandra Bullock fans but are still pretty funny nonetheless. Fletcher's execution is spot-on, and for one scene she uses a technique I don't remember seeing in the past. There is a conversation between two people lying down in two different spots, and the camera hovers slowly over them as they speak but in opposite directions for each character. For example, for one character it'll start on the left and slowly hover to the right, while it hovers over the other character in the opposite direction until both end up where the other character started. I found this technique to be very interesting, considering the first time I see it is during a romantic comedy. On a side note, supporting roles of Mary Streenburgen as Andrew's mother, Craig T. Nelson as his father, and Betty White as his grandmother are all very good and fit for their characters. Bottom line, The Proposal is a really funny romantic comedy written and executed very well and is highly recommended because I, for one, was shocked with the final outcome.