Cookie-cutter characters inhabit a paper-thin plot while being helplessly propelled to a cliché climax.
The Proposal (2009)
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Reviews Counted:176
Fresh:76
Rotten:100
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.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for sexual content, nudity and language.
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Jun 19, 2009 Wide
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
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Reviews for The Proposal
It simply doesn't give this screwball premise the workout it deserves.
As one embarrassing scene follows another, The Proposal accumulates so many bad vibes that it becomes grimly compelling.
Just like Up, the first 20 minutes is the best part, and that's about where the comparisons stop. They had the pieces in place for The Proposal but it slowly fell apart.
Sandra Bullock is the paragon of a romantic comedy heroine ... So why does she find herself the star power behind so many romcom stinkers?
The "here comes the bribe" relationship between these two likable personalities mirrors that of an ice cream cone that starts off freezing cold and then deliciously melts from the sizzling summer heat.
Even though I was able to figure out the ending just based on my knowledge of romantic comedies, the film still delivered decent laughs and good chemistry.
Bullock and Reynolds play against type well, and their spicy chemistry is contagious. But while the leads are doing their thing, Betty White slips in and steals the movie.
When White and Bullock are on screen together, they click in a way that makes this predictable film shine.
It's about a guy who has to be blackmailed into marrying Sandra Bullock? Blackmailed? He'd have to be married to Scarlett Johansson for that to be realistic.
Instead of being about dinosaurs and time warps, it's about gags that were old when dinosaurs ruled the earth.
A hollow proposal though Reynolds proves he's got the chops for comedy.
Thanks to casting and chemistry, this is the first great romantic comedy of the summer.
It's impossible to guess why Bullock was ever attracted to this insulting role, and the eternally confident Reynolds is miscast as a young, bullied underling.
Shamelessly derivative, contrived and predictable, The Proposal is nonetheless a crowd-pleasing romantic comedy.
There are spit-takes and lies; small dogs and mishaps. And, to cap it off, an impassioned dash to the airport. Seriously.
Without question this riotously funny flick is the year's best comedy -- at least so far.
Latest News for The Proposal
June 26, 2009:
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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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