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Movie:		6.0
Picture:		8.0
Sound:		7.0
Extras:		6.0
Score:		6.0

Director(s):	Anne Fletcher
Writer(s):	Pete Chiarelli
Starring:	Betty White • Craig T. Nelson • Denis O'Hare • Malin Akerman • Mary Steenburgen • Oscar Nunez • Ryan Reynolds • Sandra Bullock
Genre:	Comedy • Romance
Website:	http://www.myspace.com/proposalmovie
Release Date:	October 13, 2009
Rated:

List Price:	Blu-ray - $25.99
Amazon:

Championing a film starring Ryan Reynolds may be the easiest way to foster goodwill with the internet crowd these days. The man seems unable to do any wrong even when appearing (albeit far too briefly) in train wrecks like X-Men Origins: Wolverine or stealing Scarlett Johansson from the “I’m going to marry that woman” fantasy of every straight man walking the earth. Whatever his crime (filmic or perceived) his winning personality and great comedic delivery allows him to waltz out of any publicity nightmare as the hero of the fanboy film world. However, when he appears in something like The Proposal, an ordinary ho-hum romantic comedy spruced up by bits of unexpected ingenuity, he just passes under the radar without much fuss or ceremony. He doesn’t save the movie as it never really needed saving; he merely ends up as one of many talented stars in a single-serving comedy that most will find enjoyable at least the first time through.

Unfortunately, that’s the film’s major drawback: it suffers on repeat viewings. The story of The Proposal hasn’t a single moment or great running joke that elevates it as a comedy or any significant dramatic heft that makes it a great romance story. It’s a middle of the road effort in every way. If it’s memorable for any reason at all it’s the impressive cast rounded up – and it’s this that makes the film more than just another romantic comedy to throw on to the huge flaming pile of mediocre movies. Sandra Bullock’s career has second-rate romances and thrillers strewn about like a Kansas Blockbuster after a twister, so it’s no surprise that The Proposal can be heralded as a positive step forward in her recently slumped career: it doesn’t suck.

When power-publisher Margaret Tate (Bullock) discovers she’s a few days away from being deported and thus losing her job complements of an expired visa, her mind begins racing? Can she work from Canada? Negative. Can she pull some strings at immigration? Nope, her disobeying immigration’s decree of not leaving the country has gotten her banned from returning to the U.S. for a full year. So she uses the only card on the table: green card wedding. Taking her assistant Andrew Paxton (Reynolds) as a hostage in marriage, she “reveals” their engagement and begins the long first dance of green card fraud that will force the two of them to become extremely intimate in the span of a weekend so they can defy the skeptical eye of Mr. Gilbertson (Denis O’Hare), the immigrations officer who knows what’s going on right from the get-go. Quickly we learn that the forced medley of “Getting to know you” that constitutes the story’s plot is a solo and not a duet like you’d think; after years of slaving under Margaret, Andrew knows every intimate detail about her life, making her the only one who has to do some digging that weekend. The couple takes two days to visit Andrew’s palatial family estate in Alaska where the couple’s future nuptials become the sole focus and the two find their plans fast-tracked by a granny (Betty White) who wants to see her grandson married in a shotgun wedding. Through it all, Andrew’s parents (Craig T. Nelson and Mary Steenburgen) function as each other’s foils, one the continually disapproving authority figure Andrew seeks to please and the other an unflinching voice of reason and support.

The film’s reception doesn’t suffer or really benefit from a high-definition debut, which is odd considering it takes place in the always scenic Alaska. However, the film never indulges in panoramic shots of natural grandeur and so the only elements that make you take note of increased resolution are the pelvic thrusts of a nearly-nude Oscar Nunez or the unfairly never-as-nude-as-Nunez Malin Akerman as a former love interest of Andrew’s who hangs about supposedly making you doubt what Andrew’s final decision will be.

Blu-ray Bonus Features

There are a few deleted scenes, but the most notable of the bunch is an overwrought and far too long alternate ending that makes it all too easy to understand why it was cut in favor of the comparatively brief and equally satisfying ending in the film. The alternate ending just goes on forever…it’s agonizing. Director Anne Fletcher chose correctly in terms of which ending was the right one. There’s an audio commentary starring the director (a decent enough effort if you’re so taken with the film) and a featurette with witty comments by Bullock, Reynolds and White. It’s fun enough to watch and is short enough to not wear out its welcome.

The film merits a single viewing, but it’s hard to endorse a purchase until you know for sure that it can make you laugh even on a second viewing. It didn’t for me, but maybe you find more humor in the film’s modest charms.