Oh Sandra Bullock, why do you do this to yourself?
The Proposal (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:176
Fresh:76
Rotten:100
Average Rating:5.3/10
Consensus: Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds exhibit plenty of chemistry, but they're let down by The Proposal’s devotion to formula.
Rated: 12A [See Full Rating] for sexual content, nudity and language.
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:22-07-2009
Synopsis: THE PROPOSAL could have been a strictly script-by-numbers affair, but hilarious performances by Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds improve this romantic comedy. Publishing powerhouse Margaret Tate... THE PROPOSAL could have been a strictly script-by-numbers affair, but hilarious performances by Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds improve this romantic comedy. Publishing powerhouse Margaret Tate (Bullock, TWO WEEKS NOTICE) is used to getting her way. She bullies her ambitious assistant, Andrew Paxton (Reynolds, DEFINITELY, MAYBE), earning the ire of all the underlings at Colden Books in New York City. 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. What ensues is a combination of GREEN CARD, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, and GREEN ACRES, with the hell-in-heels boss trying to fake a romance with her assistant as she struggles to survive as a city girl in the country. However, THE PROPOSAL proves to be more than the sum of its parts; Bullock has been one of Julia Roberts’s successors to the America’s-sweetheart crown since she starred in SPEED, but this comedy has her challenging her image with hilarious ease. Reynolds--who could be just window-dressing with his good looks and easy charm--is an excellent foil who is just as adept with sarcasm as he is with a smile. The two stars are supported by an impressive cast, including Betty White as Andrew’s scheming 90-year-old grandmother, Craig T. Nelson as his disappointed father, and THE OFFICE’s Oscar Nunez as an ubiquitous resident of his hometown. THE PROPOSAL may offer few surprises in the way of plot, but the on-screen talent keeps the film feeling fresh. [More]
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Malin Akerman, Craig T. Nelson
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Malin Akerman, Craig T. Nelson, Mary Steenburgen, Betty White, Denis O'Hare, Oscar Nunez
Director: Anne Fletcher
Director: Anne Fletcher
Screenwriter: Peter Chiarelli
Producer: David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman
Composer: Aaron Zigman
Studio: Touchstone Pictures
Reviews for The Proposal
The leads are appealing, the material familiar -- it adds a Front Page romantic angle to The Devil Wears Prada, and reworks ideas from Green Card.
Somehow, someone decided this rom-com needed less rom and more com -- a fatal mistake.
The Proposal recycles a plot that was already old when Tracy and Hepburn were trying it out. You see it coming from a great distance away. As it draws closer, you don't duck out of the way, because it is so cheerfully done, you don't mind being hit by it.
A high gloss, studio Romcom with clichéd jokes and conflicts that are as uncontroversial as they are predictable, The Proposal is rooted in the most classical of conventions and still finds ways to be surprisingly enchanting.
Despite the fact The Proposal is predictable and stuffed with recycled schtick, it's surprisingly enjoyable and completely charming. If it was a baby, you'd want to pinch its little cheek -- it's that cute.
Did you ever notice that the best romantic comedies are often the cynical ones?
Regardless of the changes in setting and leading men, this is still Bullock running off the same old battery, and the fatigue is becoming increasingly difficult to cover up.
this is sort of an object lesson in what's wrong with comedy today. The first 15, maybe 20 minutes of this film was really promising... And then it all falls apart because they bring in all these silly, farcical things.
Director Anne Fletcher knows where the comedy lies in an improbable but cute screenplay by Peter Chiarelli, it’s in her two stars and she lets them fly.
The Proposal works up such a fun vibe that you couldn’t care less about the contrived schematics of its story.
The stars aren't going to erase memories of Hepburn and Tracy, or Lombard and Powell, but Bullock and Reynolds — even when playing a naked bathroom scene together — make a good fit.
The Proposal could have been much smarter, and much hipper. Instead, it settles for silliness and sentimentality.
Bullock's longtime fans should be happy to see her fully engaged in a role that suits her and paired, at last, with her comic equal: Reynolds.
The chemical energy between Bullock and Reynolds is fresh and irresistible.
Classic screwball comedies knew how to get antagonistic lovers to fall for each other without having to resort to bathos; one wants to send first-time screenwriter Pete Chiarelli to an all-day Howard Hawks film festival.
So we've got a prodigal son who has the chance to deal with his father issues and discover things about his heretofore evil boss. It's like a romantic-comedy cliché twofer.
All the romantic comedy conventions are shamelessly on parade in The Proposal, trampling on our brains and turning them into mush.
No matter how much you covet success in New York publishing, walk away. Resist the temptation to marry your boss on a bribe, especially if she’s Canada’s answer to Anna Wintour.
Every scene between Bullock and Reynolds only suggests how fine they might be in good circumstances.
Latest News for The Proposal
June 26, 2009:
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Time for the weekly update, folks. As always, thanks to everyone who has submitted reviews and helped contribute to the show. Every week, we continue to bring you a lively,... More...
June 22, 2009:
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This week, The Rotten Tomatoes Show will be looking at the movies that opened over the weekend, with help from you (the Rotten Tomatoes community), the Current TV community, and... More...
June 22, 2009:
Box office: Australia accepts Sandra's Proposal
Proof of the power of the cougar-com in this season of blockbuster action and low-brow man-movies, Sandra Bullock's The Proposal mirrored its US success and wooed Australian... More...
June 21, 2009:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Audiences Can't Refuse Bullock's Proposal.
Sandra Bullock showed North America who's boss with her return to romantic comedy in The Proposal which gave the actress the biggest opening of her career and her first number... More...
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