I don’t know how the DVD of ‘The Proposal’ appeared in our collection. Perhaps I saw it at a church book sale; perhaps I bought it at the local Thrift Store. I don’t even know how long we’ve had it on our shelves. But last night we finally decided to watch it. It claimed to be ‘comedy gold’ on the front, and a ‘laugh-out-loud romantic comedy’ on the back. So we hoped for a light evening’s entertainment.
(Amazon UK link)
The film features Sandra Bullock as the pushy, controlling Margaret, who is the editor in a New York publishing company, and Ryan Reynolds as her hard-working assistant Andrew. He somehow manages to pander to her every wish, and hasn’t yet been fired.
There’s a bit of humour at the start, as Andrew oversleeps and races his way to the office, with two takeaway coffees that he attempts to hold, but it’s slapstick, making us cringe rather than smile. It quickly becomes clear that everyone dislikes Margaret; messages are sent around the company’s computers when she’s on her way, and when she’s in a particularly bad mood. Andrew clearly dislikes her but hopes for promotion…
Margaret, we learn, is Canadian and her visa has expired. She’s due to be deported until she comes up with a solution… once again coercing Andrew to agree to do something he really doesn’t want to do. He puts himself at risk of a huge fine and imprisonment if he goes ahead, but he stands by Margaret, and then realises he actually has the upper hand. So he starts to negotiate.
Much of the film takes place in Sam’s family home in Alaska. His father Joe (Craig T Nelson) owns most of the local stores, and had hoped that Andrew would stay and take over the business. But he and Andrew have a difficult relationship, and Andrew insists that he’s happy in his work. Andrew’s mother Grace (Mary Steenburgen) is kind and diplomatic, easing the stresses where possible, and Andrew’s grandmother Annie (Betty White) is enthusiastic, lively and rather weird… despite celebrating her 90th birthday when she might be expected to slow down a little.
There’s a marked contrast between Margaret’s solo life (her parents died when she was a teenager and she has no siblings) and Andrew’s extended family and local friends, all of whom care for him despite the tensions with his father. And the film cleverly demonstrates her gradual thawing, with some insecurities showing, and Andrew’s growing strength as he begins to make some decisions.
There are undoubtedly some humorous moments; it’s a light-hearted film that revolves around a bizarre proposal, but I don’t think there was anywhere where we laughed aloud. There’s situational humour, with some nice choreography but there’s a lot of poignancy too, as Margaret and Andrew continue on the path they have agreed, in danger of making his family very upset and angry if they discover the truth.
We thought overall that the film was very well done, even if a bit predictable at the end. The chemistry between all the actors - not just the principals - was just right, and the pace excellent.
The rating is 12 which reflects the nature of the story, some minor bad language and nudity (albeit not full frontal). I can’t imagine that this film would be of the slightest interest to children anyway.
We watched the ‘extras’ afterwards. There were a couple of deleted scenes which were well done, but we could see why they were cut as they weren’t necessary. There were also a few outtakes, mostly showing forgotten lines or sudden laughter that shouldn’t have happened, and a commentary from the director and writer. There’s also an alternative ending shown, one which was quite fun, but a bit long-winded.
All in all we thought it well worth seeing, and look forward already to watching it again in a few years time.
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