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Movies / On DVD / The Proposal
The Proposal

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The Proposal (2009)

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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

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for The Proposal

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141 - 160 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
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Oh Sandra Bullock, why do you do this to yourself?

Full Review Source: Las Vegas Weekly | comment Comment
06/18/09
Josh Bell
Josh Bell
Las Vegas Weekly

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.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Daily News | comment Comment
06/18/09
Gary Thompson
Gary Thompson
Philadelphia Daily News

Somehow, someone decided this rom-com needed less rom and more com -- a fatal mistake.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
06/18/09
Rafer Guzman
Rafer Guzman
Newsday

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.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
06/18/09
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/18/09
Sara Schieron
Sara Schieron
Boxoffice Magazine

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.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
06/18/09
Rebecca Murray
Rebecca Murray
About.com

Did you ever notice that the best romantic comedies are often the cynical ones?

Full Review Source: LarsenOnFilm | comment Comment
06/18/09
Josh Larsen
Josh Larsen
LarsenOnFilm

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.

Full Review Source: BrianOrndorf.com | comment Comment
06/18/09
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
BrianOrndorf.com

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.

Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia) | comment Comment
06/17/09
David Stratton
David Stratton
At the Movies (Australia)

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.

Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia) | comment Comment
06/17/09
Margaret Pomeranz
Margaret Pomeranz
At the Movies (Australia)

The Proposal works up such a fun vibe that you couldn’t care less about the contrived schematics of its story.

Full Review Source: Herald Sun (Australia) | comment Comment
06/17/09
Leigh Paatsch
Leigh Paatsch
Herald Sun (Australia)

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.

Full Review Source: Courier Mail (Australia) | comment Comment
06/17/09
Des Partridge
Des Partridge
Courier Mail (Australia)

The Proposal could have been much smarter, and much hipper. Instead, it settles for silliness and sentimentality.

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
06/17/09
Calvin Wilson
Calvin Wilson
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
06/17/09
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel

The chemical energy between Bullock and Reynolds is fresh and irresistible.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
06/17/09
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment Weekly

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.

Full Review Source: MSNBC | comment Comment
06/17/09
Alonso Duralde
Alonso Duralde
MSNBC

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.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
06/17/09
Bill Goodykoontz
Bill Goodykoontz
Arizona Republic

All the romantic comedy conventions are shamelessly on parade in The Proposal, trampling on our brains and turning them into mush.

Full Review Source: Associated Press | comment Comment
06/17/09
Christy Lemire
Christy Lemire
Associated Press

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.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment 4 Comments
06/17/09
Ben Kenigsberg
Ben Kenigsberg
Time Out New York

Every scene between Bullock and Reynolds only suggests how fine they might be in good circumstances.

Full Review Source: New York Press | comment 5 Comments
06/17/09
Armond White
Armond White
New York Press
 
 
141 - 160 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
all

Latest News for The Proposal

June 26, 2009: Submit to the RT Show and Earn a Cool $100
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: Watch RT on Current TV
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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