'The Proposal' movie review - Simple question, predictable answer

Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock star in Anne Fletcher's "The Proposal."

"The Proposal" Movie Review -- Something old, nothing new, something borrowed, something -- blah.

That's not exactly the way the tradition is supposed to go for a wedding. But that's the recipe for the "The Proposal," a mostly harmless, completely unsurprising romantic comedy arriving in theaters Friday.

The Proposal (PG-13) Touchstone (102 min.) Directed by Anne Fletcher. With Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds. Now playing in New Jersey.


Rating note: The film contains sexual situations and a few strong words.

Sandra Bullock, who hasn't been in a comedy since 2005's "Miss Congeniality 2" (and really, not even then), plays a hard-charging New York book editor. The always slightly surprised-looking Ryan Reynolds is her much put-upon assistant.

When Bullock's heroine - a Canadian - discovers she's in trouble with U.S. immigration, her only quick-fix answer is to find someone to marry. So, in addition to fetching her latte, her assistant is told to fetch her a wedding ring. And slip it on her finger post-haste.

This is basically "Green Card" crossed with "The Devil Wears Prada," and don't think it wasn't pitched precisely that way at the studio meeting.

Admittedly, as a basic plotline it works. But so does a machine. And "The Proposal" is just as dully predictable as one.

There's a trip back to a corny small town, so the career girl can be put in her place (see "New in Town"), tacky celebrations with his family (see "My Best Friend's Wedding"), an embarrassing bachelorette party (see "Bride Wars") and a sudden breakup for all the wrong reasons (see "What Happens in Vegas").

And then there's -- no surprise -- a happy ending that includes a sudden realization, a chase, a heartfelt apology and a public embrace while a gathering crowd oohs and ahs (see almost any other romantic comedy from the last 30 years.)

No, I mean that. Please -- see almost any other romantic comedy from the last 30 years.

Actually, "The Proposal" has a few things going for it. One is -- despite the sleazy ease of most PG-13 movies now -- a reluctance to go for the cheapest joke. Another is the cast, which, in addition to Bullock and Reynolds, features Oscar Nunez from "The Office" working very hard as a local romeo and Betty White, still gamely going for gags as Reynolds' 90-year-old grandmother.

There isn't much to Bullock's character - she's all heartless ambition, until she's not -- and even less to Reynolds'. The script gropes pretty desperately for laughs at times (including a scene with White out in the woods worshipping the old Inuit gods), and director Anne Fletcher - whose "27 Dresses" at least had a few nicely edited visual sequences - is merely workmanlike.

To her credit, though, "The Proposal" limits itself to a single crack about Bullock's age (usually, when an actress is paired with a co-star 12 years her junior, she's called "a cougar"; when the equation is reversed, of course, it's called business as usual). And that's at least a small step forward.

Perhaps unnoticed, though, at least at this preview. "How old is Sandra Bullock anyway?" a man asked, somewhat argumentatively, after the screening ended. (Um, 45 next month.) "She lost a LOT of weight," a woman said darkly on the escalator. (Er, not sure -- but she looks good, particularly in her one comic, and pretty discreet, nude scene.)

What I was thinking, actually, after the movie ended, was how nice it was simply to see Bullock -- an ever-amiable and accessible actress -- in a comedy again. But what people were mostly talking about -- well, that shows just how little this particular comedy connected.
