The Proposal by Chris Poulos
Well, first off seeing this was not my idea. I was meeting up with friends I hadn’t seen in a while (one of whom was attempting to retrieve her bike lock that I was still in possession of). The original plan was to meet at a bar for a trivia night but…there was a last minute change of plans…really?! Really.
With half an hour to think about it, and the biting urge to leave the office, I buckled and headed out to meet them at the theatre, (mind you I still had no idea what we were seeing) then I got the text:
“It’s The Proposal, 7:15.”
I don’t have a TV. I don’t watch commercials…I was clueless about what they were dragging me into. And wait–7:15? It was already 7:30 something…yeah–it’s gonna be one of those nights!
I get chick flicks: very simplistic plot with not-so-subtle innuendos, which somehow are, very often, delivered by an over-sexed, elderly woman whose job it is to wink at the protagonist female to illustrate that “Life is short and then you get old and get no lovin’.”
Well, The Proposal wasn’t very different, except that Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds) gets conned into tying the knot with his boss from hell, Margaret Tate, (Sandra Bullock) whose visa is expiring and now has to forfeit her position at a New York book company. Boo hoo.
I know this isn’t the stuff that Oscars are made of, but come on! This woman couldn’t figure out that she needed to get an ‘O1 visa months before to avoid getting shipped back to Canada? I think the biggest problem I have with this scenario is that she is supposed to be an intelligent, resourceful woman, but really she puts more energy into solidifying her reputation as being the queen bitch of publishing (cleverly demonstrated when her underlings are IMing each other the day’s latest batch of office gossip) than into solving her residency problem.
So then it’s time to see the immigration guy, and he’s not buyin’ their story, but gives them the opportunity to prove the validity of their relationship to him in a few days by answering some very invasive questions about their newly announced relationship—borrowing a page from the Green Card script, perhaps?
So to help push the act a bit, they now go see Andrew’s family in Alaska for his grandma’s (Betty White) 90th birthday and to deliver the “good” news. I honestly really don’t feel like rehearsing the rest of the film for you—you can probably guess where it’s going anyway (down the toilet).
You are going to see or will rent this movie if you are a fan of either actor and/or romantic comedies. I am not. I thought some parts of this movie were pretty funny but only because of Andrew’s no-bullsh*t attitude to the situation, and how it usually ends with Margaret getting b*tch slapped off her high horse.
(Also, Betty White doing an Indian-spiritual dance to Lil Jon will either make you laugh or leave the theatre and that’s more or less the way the remainder of the visual gags made me feel… except I had a bike lock to give back and a burning desire to sh** talk this fluff over a few drinks with my friends afterward…)
Even if you like these types of movies don’t pay to see this one, it is nothing but forgettable rainy day channel flipping fodder…
Cut and Reel says: CUT!