Surprisingly decent

Rating: 7/10 (21 June 2009)

I was ready for the run-of-the-mill 21st century romantic comedy -- a lot of smirky sexual humor, a lot of dumb people, and a lot of lame dialog. I was pleasantly surprised. True, this is no Shakespeare -- or even Howard Hawks -- but that kind of lightning doesn't often strike anyway, so no great disappointment there.
First of all, based on some comments I'd heard and read, I was expecting Sandra Bullock to be out of place as the romantic lead (one reviewer referred to her as being a bit long in the tooth for this kind of role). However, her character (Margaret Tate) was clearly a woman who had put off romance in favor of career. Indeed, when she is greeted by Mary Steenburgen (Grace Paxton) as "Andrew's girl", Betty White (Grandma Annie) remarks that Margaret could hardly be called a "girl". (Note: in the showing we attended, they previewed Sandra Bullock's next movie, "All About Steve". Now that one shows serious signs of miscasting.) Secondly, in reference to Grandma Annie, I was fully expecting her to be treated the way elderly ladies are often treated in contemporary romantic comedies ("Made of Honor" comes immediately to mind) -- i.e., as either foul-mouthed (so we can snicker at the "f" word coming out of a sweet old face) or totally clueless about contemporary sexual practices. Instead, Betty White is given a smart, sassy role. She's a bit earthy, but it comes off as endearing and natural.
Third, the dialog and the characters are both intelligent. At first, Ryan Reynolds' Andrew Paxton seems a wuss, but as we get to know him, we realize that he is as tough as Margaret, and as ready to do whatever it takes to achieve his own dream, whether that be kowtowing to "Satan's mistress", or seizing his own chance to do a little blackmailing. And the Paxton clan clearly accept Margaret not because they're stupid, but because they honestly love Andrew and want to love his (supposed) fiancée as well.
Of course, you can't avoid some formula in a movie like this. And need we doubt for a moment that there will be a happy ending? (Although I will give the script credit for throwing in a little doubt there as to just whom that happy ending would include.) All in all, this is worth an evening at the movies. The audience included viewers from teenagers up to seniors, and all seemed to really enjoy it (that's a rarity!). However, we did see at least one young girl (about 10 or so); I really don't think this movie is appropriate for that demographic. (Why does a young girl have to be exposed to a male stripper, even played for laughs?)