The word “proposal” can mean a couple of things. It is, of course, the formal “Will you marry me?” question that traditionally marks the beginning of a couple’s engagement. It’s also commonly used to refer a business proposition, a pitch for an arrangement through which both parties stand to benefit.
Both definitions come into play in this tart romantic comedy, in which a demanding, high-flying female executive drags her put-upon male assistant into a dilemma that puts them both in a wedding-bound pickle.
Sandra Bullock is Margaret Tate, a bullish New York book editor at a large, hustle-bustle publishing company. Ryan Reynolds is Andrew Paxton, the beleaguered aide always in her direct line of soul-sucking, unforgiving fire.
Like everyone else in the office, Andrew loathes Margaret, who even requires him to skip his sweet grandma’s 90th birthday to work over the weekend. Obviously, Andrew has friends and a rich family life. Margaret, it’s quickly established, has neither.
When Margaret, a Canadian, finds out she’s about to be deported, she has to think fast to avoid losing her job: Marry an American! That’s how Andrew suddenly finds himself engaged to his overbearing boss — at least that’s what Margaret wants the immigration office to think.
He reluctantly agrees to play along after she threatens to derail his dreams of becoming an editor if he doesn’t. But a nosy immigration official calls their bluff, and the unlikely couple has to make a trip to visit Andrew’s family — in Alaska! — to maintain their romantic ruse.
That’s the set-up, and it provides a sturdy platform for lots of two-worlds-collide, fish-out-of-water gags and shared-bedroom slapstick. And then, as Margaret and Andrew learn more about each other, the ice between them slowly begins to melt.
A solid supporting cast keeps everything light and lively. Craig T. Nelson and Mary Steenburgen play Andrew’s parents. Oscar Nuñez, from TV’s “The Office,” is hilarious as a local jack-of-all trades who keeps popping up just about everywhere.
And 87-year-old Betty White practically steals the show as feisty, say-anything Grandma Annie, who spices up every scene in which she appears. Reynolds holds his own as a leading man, both with and without a shirt.
But this movie really belongs to Bullock, who makes Margaret funny, sweet and sympathetic — and believable as someone that Andrew could actually come to love.
There’s not a lot of new romantic-comedy ground broken here. But Bullock and Reynolds are a nice combo, bringing a fresh, invigorating twist to this tale of a proposal that starts out as all business but becomes something warmer and fuzzier before it’s over.
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Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock in “The Proposal.” Touchstone Pictures
Film Review: Bullock mixes love, business in ‘Proposal’
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