The Proposal

Starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, The Proposal follows feared executive Margaret Tate (Bullock) as she bribes her assistant (Reynolds’ Andrew Paxton) into marrying her after discovering that her work visa is about to expire (which would, of course, land her on the first plane back to her homeland of Canada). It’s a promising set-up that’s ultimately squandered by director Anne Fletcher and screenwriter Peter Chiarelli, as the movie suffers from a hopelessly overlong running time that’s exacerbated by the inclusion of several entirely needless (and altogether unfunny) comedic set pieces. Fletcher’s labored, downright desperate efforts at wringing laughs out of hopelessly stale material results in a series of entirely needless sequences (eg Bullock’s character encounters an incompetent male stripper (Oscar Nunez’s Ramone), and it’s subsequently not surprising to note that the film is at its best during its more overtly low-key moments. The affable chemistry between the two stars certainly goes a long way towards cultivating an atmosphere of watchable mediocrity, however, as both Bullock and Reynolds generally manage to rise above the material and create characters that wouldn’t be entirely unwelcome within a better movie. And while it’s hard to discount the efforts of a uniformly strong supporting cast (with Craig T. Nelson’s work as Andrew’s gruff father an obvious highlight), The Proposal‘s aggressively bloated sensibilities ensure that the movie’s positive attributes, including an admittedly affecting conclusion, are finally rendered moot (ie the film is essentially a decent 80-minute romcom trapped within the confines of an oppressive 108-minute ordeal).

** out of ****