The Proposal

 

 

DVD Review by Kam Williams

 

Headline: Bullock and Reynolds Delightful Screwball Comedy Available on DVD

 

                Ambitious, NYC publishing executive Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) has been too busy clawing her way to the top of the corporate ladder to pay attention to anything but her career. In fact, the pampered narcissist tends to delegate what she considers trivial matters to her long-suffering secretary, Andrew (Ryan Reynolds). This is why the Canadian national has also been ignoring repeated requests from the U.S. government to renew her work visa.

That oversight comes back to bite her the day a nosy Immigration Agent (Denis O’Hare) shows up at the office armed with a deportation order. When informed by her boss (Michael Nouri) that she’ll lose her job if she’s kicked out of the country, the quick-thinking businesswoman blurts out that the problem’s already been resolved because she and Andrew are engaged to be married.

Although Andrew actually hates Margaret who has been the bane of his existence for the past three years, he promises to keep up the charade on the condition that she promotes him to editor and publishes his first book. She grudgingly agrees and, to keep up appearances, resigns herself to accompanying her faux fiancé on a trip to his hometown of Sitka, Alaska to attend his Grandma Annie’s (Betty White) 90^th birthday celebration.

Thus, the table is set for the madcap shenanigans which ensue in The Proposal, a delightful screwball comedy directed by Anne Fletcher. Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds generate such chemistry by throwing themselves into their roles with abandon that it’s easy to forgive the familiarity of the familiar sitcom formula. Most of the action unfolds in scenic Sitka, a tight-knit community brimming with a colorful menagerie of local yokels.

 The plot thickens when Andrew’s folks arrange an impromptu wedding that very weekend. Will the guests will be singing “Here comes the bribe” or “Here comes the bride?” That depends on whether Andrew and Margaret ‘fess up or follow through with the sham, or better yet, actually fall in love for real.

An old-fashioned romp reminiscent of the best of Doris Day and Rock Hudson. 

 

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for profanity, nudity and sexuality. 

Running time: 108 minutes

Studio: Touchstone Home Entertainment

2-Disc DVD Extras: Deleted scenes, outtakes and other absurdities on the set, alternate ending, adio commentary by director Anne Fletcher and scriptwriter Peter Chiarelli, and a digital copy of the film.