Despite a formulaic template, unexpectedly sweet, insightful and witty in spite of itself

Rating: 6/10 (24 July 2009)

A romantic comedy with situational comedy revolving around two mismatched individuals, a looming wedding and an extended family full of quirky characters - with such an astoundingly familiar premise, one could hardly be chastised for feeling apprehensive about The Proposal, or for dismissing it as yet another of a slew of formulaic, forgettable romantic comedies. However, despite well warranted skepticism, the film's main trick card is that, in spite of it all, it is actually a worthwhile watch. Despite its formulaic structure, The Proposal boasts a welcome wit, traces of honest emotion and even a dash of profundity, assuring that while it may not be the innovative cinematic masterpiece of the decade, it at least makes for a pleasantly surprising and thoroughly enjoyable viewing experience.
Director Anne Fletcher demonstrates her genre experience by showing enough sense to, rather than caving to its inherent story clichés, hit them over the head with as much spunky exuberance as possible, making the narrative, however predictable, substantially more difficult not to derive at the very least small glimmers of enjoyment from. But what comes as the most surprising are the surprising vestiges of life in Peter Chiarelli's screenplay, with not only a welcomely barbed wit and some genuinely unpredictable laughs worming through the formulaic situational comedy, but surprisingly credible bits of interpersonal interaction. Life stories, personal quirks and inner demons shared by the characters feel a cut above the usual formulaic dredge offered in such circumstances, making the individuals emerging all the more easy to warm to. Fletcher amplifies the realism aspect with fleeting moments of uncommonly artistic technical work, frequently using high angle shots to accentuate closeted emotions and feelings of inferiority, demonstrating far more thought being put into the project than the sort of by the numbers mess it might easily have been.
Fletcher even manages to work some unorthodox traces of profundity into her work, as the initially cute toying with gender roles (Bullock as the icy workaholic boss, Reynolds as her neurotic assistant) turns into more of an outright exploration of the male/female binary, of the arenas in which women commonly gain power over men, and the ethical and social consequences of the inherent imbalances and struggles. Carefully dodging caving to traditional patriarchy or outright feminist preaching, Fletcher manipulates her cast of alternatively credible or cartoonish characters sufficiently to point out the flaws in either extreme, while making the eventual leveling of power dynamics between Reynolds and Bullock laudably palatable. As such, in spite of all this, it is a substantial shame to see the entire work drift inevitably into maudlin, syrupy cliché by the end, as the sharp and snappy picture leading up to the teary climax proves a far more self-aware and intriguing animal, making the eventual descent into overt formula feel somewhat of a letdown.
Nonetheless, there can be no question that the real strength of the film lies in the performances of its two leads, and the prickly chemistry between them. Sandra Bullock finally peeks out from autopilot, delivering a performance which, no matter how familiar, admirably succeeds in capturing the essence of a conflicted human being, and managing to be both contemptuous, sympathetic and endearingly goofy all the while. Ryan Reynolds, meanwhile, puts his triumphant mastery of comedic timing and dry sarcasm to perfect use, while also demonstrating a scarcely glimpsed potential for bringing credible life to genuine human emotions, purloining many of the film's best lines and scenes while never unreasonably taking command of his scenes. The supporting cast is hardly as remarkable, but most do perfectly suitably jobs, with Craig T. Nelson a sturdy presence as Reynolds' gruff, domineering father and Betty White managing to for the most part evoke laughs out of a worn out 'comic relief grandmother' figure, despite coming across as simply irritating more than one would care for. Malin Ackerman is given next to nothing to do as Reynolds' ex- flame, but Oscar Nunez is a welcome scene stealer as an unorthodox male stripper, bringing in many of the film's more raucous laughs.
Despite its eventual caving to cliché and patches of false or unbelievable emotional exchanges, The Proposal manages to accomplish its purpose of being charming and enjoyable with enthusiasm to spare, while managing to work in some unexpected laughs, endearingly sweet patches and even emerging as a mite profound and genuine in spite of itself. While there is still a frustrating sense of the far superior picture which might have been, the film remains worth a watch, if only for the pleasantly surprising moments of quality which pop up welcomely in the midst of its more familiar trappings.
-6/10