Anne Fletcher’s romantic comedy ‘The Proposal’, from a screenplay written by Pete Chiarelli, tells the story of an unattached man and woman who are romantically thrown together by circumstances, and out of this arrangement something deeper grows.
Sandra Bullock plays Margaret Tate, the tough, no-nonsense managing editor of a very successful New York book publishing company. Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds plays her very run off his feet assistant, Andrew Paxton. Margaret finds out that her US visa is about to expire, and that she will forced to go back to her home country, Canada and also lose her high profile position with Colden Books. Forced into a corner, and thinking very quickly, she comes up with a master plan. She will rope her young assistant Andrew into marrying her, which means that she will be able to apply for residency in the US. Andrew reluctantly complies to the arrangement but with his own terms. He gets Margaret to agree to promote him to the position of editor within the company.
‘The Proposal’ is an appealing and entertaining film. There’s a light touch to the film with no attempt to be highbrow, or to over-reach.The narrative follows a well worn but true path. I enjoyed the way that the film had different ‘shades’ to it. At times it felt very like ‘The Devil wears Pravda’, and then at other times like ‘The Taming Of The Shrew’ and ‘Green Card’.
Chiarelli shows a deft touch with the dialogue with some very witty repartee. There are some great exchanges. Margaret asks Andrew, ‘What am I allergic to? and Andrew replies, ‘Pine nuts, and the full spectrum of human emotion’.
Aaron Zigman’s score tinkering away in the background added emphasis to some of the film’s main events. There are some great camera angles made by cinematographer, Oliver Stapleton.
The performances are natural and relaxed. Sandra Bullock comfortably steps outside of her usual casting playing a pushy, waspish woman. Reynolds performance as the male romantic lead is assured. There are some fine supporting performances, in particular from Betty White as the flamboyant Grandma Annie, Mary Steenburgen as Andrew’s doting mum, Grace and Oscar Nunez as Alaskan good time boy, Ramone. The out-takes at the film’s close are a treat.
