A Chick Flick That's Not All Bad

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A Chick Flick That's Not All Bad
By Chris Glazier

Yes, I know what you're thinking: a chick-flick review in New Man? Well, think of this as a mini-Chick Flick Survival Guide. There are lots of awesome guy movies coming out in the summer (see DeWayne's review of Transformers 2 last week), so eventually your lady is going to get tired of all the explosions and ask for her turn. When that happens, I'm here to let you know that you could do worse than watch The Proposal.

Everything about The Proposal is standard romantic-comedy fare—from the ridiculous plot to the beautiful setting to the choice for leading actress—but the movie manages to work pretty well despite its cliché trappings.

The ridiculous plot starts when icy book editor Margaret (played, of course, by Sandra Bullock) learns that she is being deported to Canada because of an overdue passport. She forces her young assistant Andrew (played by Ryan Reynolds) into an impromptu wedding to save her visa status. To fool their nosy immigration investigator, they fly off to Andrew's home in Alaska for a weekend with his family. And high jinks ensue.

The main reasons The Proposal works are the cast and the snappy writing. Ryan Reynolds gets to play his usual role of the smart, sarcastic hunk; and he does it very well, particularly the sarcasm. Sandra Bullock shows that she still has the chops to carry a romantic comedy, transforming her character from a mean-spirited boss to a lonely, loveable woman by the end of the film. But the best performance by far belongs to Golden Girls alum Betty White, who plays sweet but zany Grandma Annie. Even at 87, White still knows how to be downright hilarious, and she steals just about every scene she's in.

The writing is the other main reason for the film's relative success. Its strong and snappy, and the plot moves along quickly most of the time. Reynolds and Bullock have pretty strong chemistry throughout, and a lot of it is due to the fact that they have good, solid lines to deliver.

Unfortunately, like most chick flicks, The Proposal has some major flaws. It really gets muddled toward the middle of the film, dragged down by numerous scenes that the producers must have thought were funny but don't even come close to hitting the mark. One scene involves an eagle picking a dog out of the air; one involves a native tribal dance gone awry; and another includes a male stripper. These scenes feel so out of place with the rest of the film that you wonder if the studio required that they be added.

Ultimately, The Proposal is a pretty typical romantic comedy, albeit one that won't make you cringe too often. If your wife wants to see something romantic this summer, this one isn't all that bad.

Content Watch: The movie is rated PG-13 for language and nudity, and it pretty much pushes the "nudity" portion of that to the brink. There's a scene in which Bullock and Reynolds accidentally bump into each other while they're naked, and, though funny, too much skin shows. There's also the aforementioned male stripper, which is more of a "gag me" kind of nudity, since he's not exactly the most attractive guy. Also, while the language isn't as bad as an R movie, there's still plenty of it. This is not a movie for the family.