Here comes the bribe...

Rating: 6/10 (18 October 2009)

Publishing powerhouse Margaret Tate is used to getting her way. She bullies her ambitious assistant, Andrew Paxton. 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.
Every once in awhile, you must be willing to forgive a romantic comedy of its clichéd-filled plot because it's executed so well. THE PROPOSAL is one of those movies. Yes, mostly everything is done strictly by the numbers and yes, we can see the ending coming even before the movie begins but you feel so happy and warm and fuzzy inside that you want the conventional to happen.
Most of this is because of the two leads: Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. Both have such a great chemistry together and their scenes filled with head-on sarcasm hit the right funny spots! They elevate the movie to a higher level. Other supporting cast members include Betty White, Craig T. Nelson, and Mary Steenburgen, who all have their moments in the film.
However, with all this delightful things going on, there were some problems in the film. One main one is that it has some kind of bipolar disorder. For example, one scene starts off sad and tragic and one second later, it's a sitcom. It's like the movie didn't know which route to go to. This happens frequently especially in the last half hour of the film.
But other than that, the film is light and fluffy. It plays it safe and sticks to the conventions but you wouldn't mind because of the two terrific leads, whom make it better than most romantic comedies. There are also some standout scenes including one where both Bullock and Reynolds talk about themselves in a bedroom at night, which is truly heartfelt. Hey, I guess I'm sentimental, but you know what? I enjoyed the movie.