Solid romantic comedy

Rating: 7/10 (25 October 2009)

The Proposal is one of the better stories in the romantic-comedy genre. Margaret Tate, played by Sandra Bullock, is a fearsome autocratic book editor at a publishing firm in New York. Her "faithful" assistant Andrew Paxton (played by Ryan Reynolds) follows her every order but trashes the editor behind her back. The story quickly takes a turn towards the hilarious when Canadian citizen Margaret is informed of her visa expiration and imminent deportation, but instead of leaving US of A and potentially losing her job, Margaret decides to marry Ryan to gain legal residency. Ryan agrees to the scam of a "brief marriage, quick divorce" because of the enticing promotion she presents to him.
To convince the skeptical immigration officers as well as Andrew's disbelieving family, who by this time have had an earful about Margaret, the two invent dating tales as they go. As befitting their characters, Margaret plows right on, while Andrew at times appear unconvinced and much put-upon. Adding to the fun is Grandma Annie, an outspoken and eccentric character who is into giving thanks to Mother Earth by dancing to the sound of drums.
For me the female main character contributed much to the watch-ability of this film. There is something about a mixture of stubbornness, independence, and also a soft vulnerability (revealed during the Alaska trip) that I like very much. Andrew's character is convincing but gets eclipsed by the more dominant Margaret.
The film has its boring trite moments, for example the bedroom scene where the two have their tête-à-tête. But these are required for plot development and are not dragged out. Even if the ending is predictable, there is plenty of comedy to compensate.