For three years, Andrew Paxton has slaved as the assistant to Margaret Tate, hard-driving editor at a New York publisher. When Margaret, a Canadian, faces deportation for an expired visa, she hatches a scheme to marry Andrew - he agrees if she'll promise a promotion. A skeptical INS agent vows to test the couple about each other the next Monday. Andrew had plans to fly home that weekend for his grandma's 90th, so Margaret goes with him - to Sitka, Alaska - where mom, dad, and grams await. Family dynamics take over: tensions between dad and Andrew, an ex-girlfriend, Andrew's dislike of Margaret, and her past color the next few days, with the INS ready to charge Andrew with fraud.
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Description
Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) terrorizes her publishing house co-workers with her abrasive, take-no-prisoners management style, especially her overworked assistant Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds). But when Margaret is threatened with deportation to her native Canada because of an immigration technicality, the quick-thinking exec announces that she and Andrew are engaged to be married. Ambitious Andrew agrees to go along with her scheme—if there’s a long-awaited promotion in it for him. Everything is going according to Margaret’s plan, until an overzealous immigration official makes it his business to prove that the couple’s engagement is bogus. To demonstrate her commitment to her new fiancé, Margaret agrees to celebrate the 90th birthday of his colorful grandmother (Betty White) — in Alaska. The editrix’s type-A ways put her at odds with her eccentric future in-laws with hilarious consequences, until the Paxtons teach Margaret a thing or two about family.
Rom-com favorite Sandra Bullock and the affably charming Ryan Reynolds’s superb chemistry turn The Proposal from otherwise standard romantic-comedy fare to one that is entertaining and sure to garner laughs. Margaret (Sandra Bullock) is a workaholic, tyrannical book editor (reminiscent of The Devil Wears Prada) who suddenly finds her career in jeopardy as she faces deportation back to Canada. Her solution is to simply fake an engagement to her unsuspecting assistant Andrew (Ryan Reynolds), who in turn blackmails her for a promotion. However, when Margaret is forced to head to Alaska with Andrew to visit his family in an effort to make their story believable to the deportation officers, they soon realize that their plan may not be so simple after all. The supporting cast of Dad (Craig T. Nelson), Mom (Mary Steenburgen), and kooky Grandma (Betty White, still a scene-stealer at 87) is great casting that makes for many amusing scenes. Bottom line: witty Reynolds and Bullock are perfect sparring partners for each other and not half bad to look at either. --Lisanne Chastain Stills from The Proposal (Click for larger image)
DVD Information
Binding: DVDAspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Brand: Buena Vista Home Video
Manufacturer: Touchstone Home Entertainment
Original Release Date: 2009-01-01
Actors:
- Sandra Bullock
- Ryan Reynolds
- Betty White
- Mary Steenburgen
- Craig T. Nelson
Reviews
Xtra Info: Special Features
by Lorelai from Texas on 2009-09-19
For some reason Amazon is not listing in Product Details what is actually included in the 2 disc DVD other than a movie description. So for those like me who like to know what Xtras (+ Digital Copy) you're getting here it is:
Alternate Ending
Deleted Scenes
Audio Commentary
Featurette
"Set Antics": Outtakes And Other Absurdities
Subtitles: French, Spanish
Disc Two: Digital Copy of Feature Film
Betcha can't watch this just once
by J. Milligan from Florida on 2009-10-02
I saw this at the theatre 3 times. It is so funny. I was laughing out loud all through the movie. This is not a chick flick. Lots of men were in the theatre with me and they were laughing louder than me and my girlfriends. The acting doesn't get much better than this. The director has to be pleased with this one because these actors showed up knowing just what to do. Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds were so good together. Ryan was great even when he wasn't speaking. Just his facial expressions were hysterically funny. He also gave singing a try which was even funnier. Betty White played his grandmother and was as good as ever. Sandra and Ryan try hard not to like each other but it just didn't work. Sandra Bullock looks great. Girl can't help it, she is just too pretty. I don't write much about the story because it is described on the Amazon listing and I don't want to spoil anything. Go watch this movie. It is the comedy of the year. I like spontaneous type comedy and not fake made up comedy and The Proposal is just that. You will watch this movie over and over.
I DO (love this comedy)...
by Shopper from USA on 2009-09-13
If you have just survived another tough week at the office and are looking for a weekend pick me up, "The Proposal" is your sure bet. Yes, I laughed outloud often, and so did most of the audience. The comment frequently heard as the credits rolled was: "Ooohhh, that was sooo goooood!".
The story: a tough lady-boss (Bullock) is being deported to Canada for willful non-compliance with the US immigration department. To save herself, she directs her doormat of an assistant (Reynolds) to marry her. He reluctantly agrees to play along, after she "helps" him understand the virtues of being employed. If you think you know where this story is going... well, you are right. The "happily ever after" cannot be avoided. 'Tis a comedy after all...What is fresh is how skillfully the writers and the director allow the story to veer away from the "happily ever after" course, keeping us on the edge of our seats until the satisfying end, which we have known all along was bound to arrive.
The chemistry between the two leads is another pleasant surprise. I am not a particular fan of either Bullock or Reynolds. Though each smoking hot and talented, neither has made many inspired project choices. However, the roles here suit the pair's natural acting styles reasonably well, which in turn further enhances the believability of their characters. The look of constipated doom on Reynold's face, as he's being informed he's engaged, is side-splitting! I do regret Bullock does not play "mean" better; the intended juxtaposition of her supposedly tough as nails character against her overly compliant secretary is lost at times. We are TOLD she is a witchy boss, and yet she comes accross nothing more then efficient (Sandra: call me! I'll give you some pointers. In return you can teach me how to find a secretary as hot as Reynolds ;0) ).
Another gem in this comedy is Ms Betty White (of "The Golden Girls" fame), an octogenarian in real life as well as playing one in "The Proposal". She has made an art of delivering "campy" with emotional intelligence. She does not dissapoint here either.
Final verdict? Will this film change the course of modern cinematography?
Not a fat chance!
Did it chase my blah's away until Monday morning?
AFFIRMATIVE!!! ...Till Wednesday... at least!
Fun Extras for Decent Time Waster
by Cubist from United States on 2009-10-13
There are two deleted scenes with optional commentary by director Anne Fletcher and writer Peter Chiarelli. There is a nice scene with Andrew's parents (Nelson and Steenburgen). We also see Margaret and Andrew getting a little more comfortable with each other. They are nice enough scenes but not essential and one can see why they were cut.
There is an alternate ending with optional commentary. Fletcher and Chiarelli talk about why they didn't use this ending and another one that they didn't use as well. The humour in this scene is much broader than the rest of the film and seems out of place.
"Set Antics: Outtakes and Other Absurdities from The Proposal" is a montage of the cast goofing around on set. It looks like they had a lot of fun making this film.
Finally, there is an audio commentary by Fletcher and Chiarelli. They start off explaining the dichotomy between the two main characters. Fletcher says that Bullock loved the screenplay and gave Chiarelli all kinds of notes to make her character nastier. He talks about the mechanics of the story while she talks about the challenge of working on location. This is a fairly decent track by two people clearly proud of their film.
Bullock and Reynolds Rise Above Formula
by James A. Strong from Atlanta, Georgia United States on 2009-10-26
Things have changed a fair bit for Sandra Bullock since the release of "While You Were Sleeping," and "The Proposal" reflects those changes. In the earlier film, she was a newcomer with a "girl next door" image who had a brightness of spirit and innocence about her that made the viewer buy into the whimsy (which looks pretty thin, in retrospect) of that film. This time around, fourteen years later, Bullock has several romantic comedies under her belt and she has developed her screen persona gradually over time. The comparison is warranted, however--the two films have plenty of similarities. Both are about her pretending to be engaged, both have her meet her faux fiancee's families, and both touch on the old moral that honesty is the best policy. Keeping that in mind, thankfully, "The Proposal" doesn't ask too much; it doesn't require that we bend suspension of disbelief too much to enjoy it. It plays off of the viewer's dual desires to see her in the genre where she excels and also see something new, and it delivers on both counts.
In "The Proposal," Bullock plays an overbearing book editor who runs her office like Miranda Priestley of "The Devil Wears Prada." She's a hard-edged businesswoman who seems like love is the farthest thing from her mind. Ryan Reynolds plays the assistant who dutifully caters to her every whim, sacrificing his own personal life for the sake of his career. She knows this and takes full advantage of it on a daily basis. She even blackmails him to marry her so that she can get a visa (she's a Canadian citizen) and remain in the United States. He reluctantly agrees, and the two of them embark on a trip to Alaska to meet his family to show a suspicious immigration officer that their relationship is no sham.
This is where the film attempts to develop Bullock's character into flesh and blood. As expected, her experiences with his family are designed to humanize her. Despite the transparency of the effort, it ultimately works. This is thanks in no small part to the chemistry between her and Reynolds. The progression of their relationship is believable, and the two play off of each other well. Reynolds proves to be witty and charming, and Bullock strikes the right balance between cynicism and vulnerability.
The family figures themselves are more of a mixed bag. The tension between father and son is palpable between Craig T. Nelson and Reynolds, respectively. Betty White assumes the role of the nutty grandmother (a role that is far too similar to the one played by Glynis Johns in "While You Were Sleeping.") Mary Steenburgen goes through the motions as the mother figure of the film, leaving very little impression as she essentially plays a cardboard cut-out character.
The predictability of the story works as much for it as against it: the viewer takes comfort in the fact that they're likely to get a happy ending, but there aren't many surprises. It grounds itself in reality more than "While You Were Sleeping," making it more plausible, yet no less enjoyable. Those seeking rapturous romantic magic might want to look elsewhere, but those seeking an above-average date movie could certainly do worse.
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