THE PROPOSAL (USA 2009) ***
Directed by Anne Fletcher

Romantic comedies are a dime a dozen these days with most of them plain awful.  The recent FOOL’S GOLD, GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST and HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU immediately come to mind.  As for THE PROPOSAL, Sandra Bullock claims that THE PROPOSAL to be a comedy and not a romantic comedy.

Whether she is right is arguable, but one cannot deny the strong romantic element present.  The story concerns a strong willed book editor Margaret Will (Sandra Bullock).  To prevent deportation to her native Canada, she forces her executive assistant, Andrew (Ryan Reynolds) to marry her.  But when the couple lands in Sitka, Alaska (place does exist – I checked) to meet his parents, the family (Mary Streenburgen, Craig T. Nelson and Betty White) force the couple to get married there immediately. 

No prizes in guessing that Margaret will turn over a new leaf and that Andrew will fall for her and her for him.  And there needs to be obstacles in this path.  So, thus is the formula of the romantic comedy.

But the script by newbie Peter Chiarri has enough well thought up and hilarious comedic set pieces, all of them well directed by Anne Fletcher (27 DRESSES) to keep the audience entertained.  The drama is kept at a minimum – thank God for nobody would believe the serious parts anyway. 
The best of the set-ups involves Bullock and Reynolds fully nude to run clashing into each other.  Fortunately this scene works well, judged by the laughter heard during the promo screening.  Reynolds is all buffed up, obviously in preparation for his X-MEN role and Bullock looks just amazing at 45, after hitting the gum and cutting out carbs from her diet.  The cast all looks as if they are having a swell time making this movie as it seems to show on screen.  Golden Girl Betty White plays the grandmother with all the zest of an 87 minus twenty years.

As to whether Bullock is right in THE PROPOSAL being a romantic comedy, she would as the film is sufficiently funny and entertaining to be classified as a comedy but the credibility of the romance is definitely in question.  No one would believe that anyone would fall in love with the Bullock character.  Despite this, Bullock and Reynolds have fantastic chemistry on screen – but this does not necessary refer to the romantic aspect.