Margaret Tate has it all: a beautiful apartment in Central Park West, a hot bod, Prada bags and Louboutins, and a high-velocity career as a New York City book editor. Oh, and she's about to be deported.
So what does the 40-something Margaret (Sandra Bullock) do to prevent being shipped kicking and screaming back to her native Canada? She proposes to her long-suffering assistant Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds), as a bribe: If he marries her, she'll give him the promotion he's been drooling over since he started three years ago. It doesn't matter that the two bicker like Hepburn and Tracy; both are bound and determined to get what they want.
But what starts out as a not-so-innocent little bribe becomes a whirlwind three-day trip to Andrew's childhood home in an Alaskan island village, where his parents and sassy grandma (Betty White) pull out all the stops to welcome the happy couple. Multitudes of the expected cringe-worthy familial high jinks occur, and Margaret learns how to let down her hair -- literally. (Bye bye, skintight ponytail! A not-so-subtle character development device.)
Directed by Anne Fletcher ("27 Dresses"), "The Proposal" starts out fresh and clever but falls victim to the rom-com's tendency, intentional or not, to refuse to let a woman be defined by her career. Instead, it's only when she finds love (this time with a younger man -- ooh la la) that she can be complete.
It's predictable fare, but perhaps 50 percent smarter than Fletcher's last attempt at a chick-pleaser. And though Bullock and Reynolds have snappy chemistry to spare, their love affair stops just shy of being believable. There are too many awkward "tender" moments and not enough vigor for a real romance.
White is the standout, cracking up the audience as only a hyper-charming 87-year-old actress can do. Whether she's rubbing up to the town's only male stripper or dancing to Bullock's rendition of "Get Low" by Lil Jon while wearing a feathered headdress, she steals every scene she's in.
Though Bullock has never been impressive as an actress, she creates a surprisingly likable leading lady while revealing more of the slapstick comedy chops she honed in "Miss Congeniality," even while naked. The screenwriters give Margaret a healthy dose of emotional growth and Bullock handles it gracefully, resilient vs. tissue-sodden.
Of course, the jury is out as to whether Mr. Scarlett Johansson can act, but Reynolds' Andrew is wry and sarcastic, as a stressed-out assistant-turned-groom can be. And don't fret, of course he takes off his shirt -- you think a chick flick would be complete without that?
