The Proposal could have been a terrific screwball comedy, but the end results are well below average.
The Proposal (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:32
Fresh:15
Rotten:17
Average Rating:5.3/10
Consensus: Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds exhibit plenty of chemistry, but they're let down by The Proposal’s devotion to formula.
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins
Genre: Comedies
US Box Office: $163,900,057
Synopsis: THE PROPOSAL could have been a strictly script-by-numbers affair, but hilarious performances by Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds improve this romantic comedy. Publishing powerhouse Margaret Tate... THE PROPOSAL could have been a strictly script-by-numbers affair, but hilarious performances by Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds improve this romantic comedy. Publishing powerhouse Margaret Tate (Bullock, TWO WEEKS NOTICE) is used to getting her way. She bullies her ambitious assistant, Andrew Paxton (Reynolds, DEFINITELY, MAYBE), earning the ire of all the underlings at Colden Books in New York City. But Margaret, a native Canadian, finds her career in jeopardy when she is denied a visa and learns she will be sent northward. She forces Andrew to become her fiancé, but she’ll have to take a trip home to Alaska with him to prove to U.S. Immigration that their impending union is genuine. What ensues is a combination of GREEN CARD, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, and GREEN ACRES, with the hell-in-heels boss trying to fake a romance with her assistant as she struggles to survive as a city girl in the country. However, THE PROPOSAL proves to be more than the sum of its parts; Bullock has been one of Julia Roberts’s successors to the America’s-sweetheart crown since she starred in SPEED, but this comedy has her challenging her image with hilarious ease. Reynolds--who could be just window-dressing with his good looks and easy charm--is an excellent foil who is just as adept with sarcasm as he is with a smile. The two stars are supported by an impressive cast, including Betty White as Andrew’s scheming 90-year-old grandmother, Craig T. Nelson as his disappointed father, and THE OFFICE’s Oscar Nunez as an ubiquitous resident of his hometown. THE PROPOSAL may offer few surprises in the way of plot, but the on-screen talent keeps the film feeling fresh. [More]
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Malin Akerman, Craig T. Nelson
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Malin Akerman, Craig T. Nelson, Mary Steenburgen, Betty White, Denis O'Hare, Oscar Nunez
Director: Anne Fletcher
Director: Anne Fletcher
Screenwriter: Peter Chiarelli
Producer: David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman
Composer: Aaron Zigman
Studio: Touchstone Pictures
Reviews for The Proposal
As one embarrassing scene follows another, The Proposal accumulates so many bad vibes that it becomes grimly compelling.
In the end, nothing can compensate for the fact that Bullock has been so diligent in ridding herself of any trace of niceness that she looks as if she's regretting the whole thing. Boredom doesn't suit her and a romcom without charm just doesn't rate.
this is sort of an object lesson in what's wrong with comedy today. The first 15, maybe 20 minutes of this film was really promising... And then it all falls apart because they bring in all these silly, farcical things.
Director Anne Fletcher knows where the comedy lies in an improbable but cute screenplay by Peter Chiarelli, it’s in her two stars and she lets them fly.
The Proposal works up such a fun vibe that you couldn’t care less about the contrived schematics of its story.
The stars aren't going to erase memories of Hepburn and Tracy, or Lombard and Powell, but Bullock and Reynolds — even when playing a naked bathroom scene together — make a good fit.
Sandra Shock: Bullock partners well with Ryan Reynolds, their romcom strengths sailing above any of the weaker options put forward by this decent Proposal.
The lure of Reynolds' and Bullock's nude scene together is sure to fill cinema seats (and raise a smile), but the other 106 minutes of The Proposal prove utterly forgettable.
It's contrived and predictable, formulaic and derivative, yet The Proposal has its own charm. Star charisma is part of it, but there's an interesting dynamic between the two leads. The set up is fun, too.
One minute you’re watching a 21st-century remake of His Girl Friday, the next you’re having to endure some awful, dumbed-down “women’s picture”. Bullock deserves better.
Sandra Bullock is teamed up with Ryan Reynolds, and each star's face has a waxy immobility that has nothing to do with Botox; the pure awfulness of the script has paralysed their facial muscles.
Despite good moments and likable leads, this lacks both heart and humour in a confection that smacks of the over-familiar.
It simply doesn't give this screwball premise the workout it deserves.
The Proposal is just a good old-fashioned romance, one in which people actually bring out the best in one another rather than the worst. How novel is that?
Like most Hollywood romantic comedies these days, The Proposal is all about bringing a woman to her knees.
[Bullock and Reynolds] should be a winning combination, but they're slightly out of synch here: she overplays the gags and he isn't given enough to do to.
Though it falls short of winning our hearts completely, The Proposal is a serviceable and intermittently funny romance made enjoyable by the sparks between Bullock and Reynolds.
Just looking at the poster for The Proposal, a by-the-numbers romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, tells you exactly how it's all gonna go down.
The Proposal recycles a plot that was already old when Tracy and Hepburn were trying it out. You see it coming from a great distance away. As it draws closer, you don't duck out of the way, because it is so cheerfully done, you don't mind being hit by it.
Latest News for The Proposal
June 26, 2009:
Submit to the RT Show and Earn a Cool $100
Time for the weekly update, folks. As always, thanks to everyone who has submitted reviews and helped contribute to the show. Every week, we continue to bring you a lively,... More...
June 22, 2009:
Watch RT on Current TV
This week, The Rotten Tomatoes Show will be looking at the movies that opened over the weekend, with help from you (the Rotten Tomatoes community), the Current TV community, and... More...
June 22, 2009:
Box office: Australia accepts Sandra's Proposal
Proof of the power of the cougar-com in this season of blockbuster action and low-brow man-movies, Sandra Bullock's The Proposal mirrored its US success and wooed Australian... More...
June 21, 2009:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Audiences Can't Refuse Bullock's Proposal.
Sandra Bullock showed North America who's boss with her return to romantic comedy in The Proposal which gave the actress the biggest opening of her career and her first number... More...
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