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REVIEW: Say yes to ‘The Proposal’

By Amy Jacobus

While most adolescent girls flocked to the latest teen movie, I was always anxious for the release of the next big horror film. Before it was legal to buy tickets for R-rated films on my own, my ever-so-gracious mother volunteered to chaperone ventures to the theater for blood-and-guts thrills. My 14th birthday party involved a trip to see Wes Craven’s “Scream 3,” and the following year I celebrated with a group of friends and a large and looming projection of Hannibal Lecter.

Though I haven’t lost my penchant for the murderous and supernatural, I have grown frustrated with the lack of surprises, not to mention the gratuitous gore, in the recent stream of horror flicks. As the genre grows more and more predictable, the movies become less and less frightening.

So partly in order to avoid disappointment on the ghoul and serial killer front, and partly to appease my roommate — who considers every movie that contains any semblance of weaponry (yes, this even includes magic wands) “too scary” — I’ve become a devoted follower of my gender’s stereotypical fare: the oft-condemned chick flick. And since these stories tend to be even more predictable than my beloved horror films, I’m plenty familiar with the principles of romantic comedy.

Needless to say, I was expecting the usual from “The Proposal.” Consider what one can gather from the trailer: Margaret Tate (the long-lost Sandra Bullock) bribes assistant Andrew Paxton (of-course-he-takes-his-shirt-off-in-this-movie Ryan Reynolds) into marrying her in order to avoid deportation and protect her job, thus sending her to his hometown to meet the parents and setting the wheels of actual romance spinning.

Distill that further and you have a typical outline: girl and boy loathe each other, girl and boy are forced to spend some quality time together, girl and boy inevitably fall head over heels for one another in the process. Formulaic? You bet. Predictable? For the most part. Same old, same old? Actually, no.

Believe me, I sat down with pen poised, set to take copious notes on the film’s overly cheesy one-liners, unrealistic circumstances and hasty declarations of adoration. But my snarky stance receded within moments, melting away with the observation of the movie’s own relentless sass.

The flick’s brusque sarcasm and sharp wit falls short of uproarious, but it did elicit quite a few substantial giggles. One such chuckle actually sent my pen flying, leaving me unarmed in my quest to document the movie’s surely extant flaws. All for the best it turns out — I was having trouble finding them.

Producer turned first-time-screenwriter Pete Chiarelli demonstrates an interest in a battle of wits rather than a battle of the sexes. His protagonists are on equal terms where intelligence and resilience are concerned. Rather than slop on the schmaltz, he employs biting remarks and slapstick comedy to move the story forward, inviting the audience to witness the beginnings of a potential love story rather than the whole of it.

His frank characters obtain audience approval with relative ease. We like Andrew for his affection for his “gammy” (a nutty nonagenarian played by Betty White) and his dogged devotion to serve a woman he hates because it may eventually lead to the job he loves. And even though Margaret is allergic to pine nuts and “the full range of human emotion,” we can’t help but adore her when she busts out an animated rendition of the Ying Yang Twins’ “Get Low” and we respect her refusal to leave her job in incapable hands. Plus, anyone who wears her make-up to bed, like armor, is obviously not as tough as she seems.

Bullock and Reynolds have just enough onscreen chemistry and a competent supporting cast is on hand to provide additional comic relief. Example: Oscar Nuñez of TV’s “The Office” acts as resident waiter, preacher and exotic male dancer. Need I say more?

“The Proposal” contains the requisite rom-com scenes — the vulnerable divulgence of personal information, the realization of ardor, the panicked and inconvenient separation, the kiss — but it also stores a series of ridiculous diversions and physical comedy. Even its more tender moments have an underlying sense of awkwardness that seems to ground them in reality.

Sure, it adheres to the date movie formula’s major constants, but what makes this film worthwhile is its play with a few of the variables. Wholly satisfying, “The Proposal” deftly attains the appropriate level of cute with a minimal amount of sap.