The Proposal **1/2

Directed by Anne Fletcher.
Written by Pete Chiarelli.
Released June 2009.
With Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Mary Steenburgen,
Craig T. Nelson, Betty White, Denis, O'Hare,
Malin, Akerman, Oscar Nunez, Aasif Mandif

All in all, this is a fun little movie. Basically, it hearkens to the time of the screwball commedy. It tries to be like a Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn movie. It tries, but of course Billock's not Hepburn and Reynolds is definately not Grant.

Bullock plays an executive of a publishing house who is a total bitch on wheels. Reynolds is her smart alecky assistant who wants to be a real writer. It seems that Bullock's character, Margaret, is going to lose her job becasue she is Canadian and is not in the states legally. She's going to be deported. She decides that Reynolds will marry her so that she can stay. Reynolds squeezes some promises from her and they reach a deal. They have to go to sceptical immigration officer who sees through their plot and intends to get to the bottom of it.

Meanwhile, Reynold's character, Andrew, takes her to a weekend back home in Alaska to meet the parents. The parents get all excited and insist on having the wedding there and from there all sorts of whackiness and comedy ensue.

Sure it's predictable, we all know whats going to happen to this mismatched couple, just like we know that our team is going to win whenever we watch a sports film. But it's well written, the shots of Alaska are beautiful the chracters are engaging. There is an unfortunate scene in Which Bette White, the grandmother, does some sort of nature Native American dance in the woods upon which Margaret finds her and does her own bootie shaking dance.

It's no Grant and Hepburn, but it's a good time.