19.7.09

The Proposal


It seems that Hollywood is taking a page from Bollywood movies these days, because the Proposal seems to be more of the latter than the former.

The movie stars Sandra Bullock as a smart, witty and very clever book editor and Ryan Reynolds as her beleaguered assistant. One day at the office, Margaret Tate (Bullock), a Canadian whose visa expires and suddenly she finds herself scrambling for a way to stay in the United States and the big New York office where she rules with an iron fist clutching a designer bag.

The plan that she devises involves her assistant, Andrew (Ryan Reynolds), a beleaguered yet funny character who helps his boss get out of trouble—almost all the time. For her to get the promotion, she needs to stay in New York, for her to stay in New York, she needs to become an American citizen and the quickest way to do that would be to marry an American.

She bribes Andrew into marrying her, in exchange for a promotion of his own, and as the story goes, somewhere along their fallacy, they get to know each other. During a visit to his family, she realizes that Andrew is actually a good man and someone more than just an assistant. She meets his mom (Mary Steenburgen) and dad (Craig T. Nelson) who provide the odd funny moment but give her into an insight into Andrew. Similarly, Andrew sees a completely different side of his boss, a fragile woman hiding behind the guile of a controlling and overpowering boss. Hence the movie being more Bollywood than Hollywood, the plot is thin to say the least and is filled by formula moments.

The film is directed by Anne Fletcher, who also directed 27 Dresses and is written by Peter Chiarelli whose script is filled with clichés and stereotypes. There are many scenes completely lifted off from other—more recent—movies.

Besides its obvious flaws the film does have moments that make it a worthwhile watch. Most of these moments belong to Ryan Reynolds. The young actor holds his own against Sandra Bullock, who may not be as charming as Julia Roberts, but she makes up for it by being very funny.

The Proposal is funny but you’ve probably seen and heard it all somewhere before, but it’s still an enjoyable watch.

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