A Fake 'Proposal'

Romantic comedies are not my favorite genre of movie for a variety of reasons, but mostly because of their predictable nature. "The Proposal," starring Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock, tries to rid itself of the formula, but despite its twists and turns, the movie ends up being its own worst enemy.
Bullock plays Margaret (no nickname), a smart, uppity, better than you type that is an editor a big publishing company in New York. Everyone in her office fears her, typing instant messages that describe her as some variation of a "witch." Reynolds plays her assistant Andrew, who is constantly trying to keep up with Margaret's intense demands. He clearly dislikes her, while she doesn't pay him much mind either.

When Margaret finds out from her bosses that she's being deported because of visa issues (she's from Canada), she tells them she and Andrew are getting married. Unwittingly involved, Andrew plays along but learns that he must in fact marry her to keep both of their jobs. When they go to immigration services, the new "couple" learns they will be subjected to intense testing to make sure they are not committing the fraud that they are actually attempting. In an effort to make it realistic, Andrew brings Margaret home with him to Sitka, Alaska for his grandma's birthday and to tell his parents they are to be married. From there, let the rom com stereotypes begin.

This is a good date movie, and almost every girl I have heard talk about this movie really liked it. To me, it was predictable and kind of stupid. Then again, my demographic is most likely not who the movie was targeting, which is fine. In the grand scheme of romantic comedies, it really isn't terrible. The funniest part of the movie involves Oscar Nunez (the guy who plays Oscar on The Office) as Ramon, the Sitka local that seems to have about thirty jobs in the small town, from store clerk to stripper. He's pretty funny, and so are some of his scenes. Also, the town and setting of the film are beautiful, but the plot just is kind of lame. The ending makes it even more corny to me, while earlier in the film it seemed like it could break some rom com stereotypes.

6 out of 10 stars