Film File - The Proposal

Nobody ever wants to leave the Big Apple - particularly when you've got the dream job, the right office and the perfect dogsbody who panders to your every need. When high-powered New York book editor Margaret (Sandra Bullock) faces deportation to her native Canada, the quick-thinking exec declares that she's actually engaged to her unsuspecting put-upon assistant Andrew (Ryan Reynolds), whom she's tormented for years. Marriage, as many an Irish illegal alien knows, will save you from the clutches of the Immigration and Naturalisation Service. Andrew agrees to participate in the charade, but with a few conditions of his own. As part of the plan to fool the immigration spooks, the unlikely couple head to Alaska to meet his wealthy parents (Mary Steenburgen and Craig T Nelson) where the control freak city girl finds herself in one comedic fish-out-of-water situation after another. With an impromptu wedding in the works and a determined immigration official on their tails, Margaret and Andrew reluctantly vow to stick to the plan despite the precarious consequences. Also starring are Malin Ackerman as Gertrude, the vivacious young woman Andrew left behind; Denis O'Hare as the determined immigration officer, and Oscar Nunez as Ramone, a decidedly unexotic exotic dancer. Directed by Anne Fletcher, who helmed 2007's 27 Dresses, The Proposal falls loosely into the 'screwball comedy' mode so beloved of the 50s with, this time around, Bullock as the boss from hell and Reynolds as the upwardly mobile assistant who'll take whatever is thrown at him to get ahead in publishing. Think Ugly Betty meets The Devil Wears Prada and you wouldn't be miles out. After more than a few rom-com mistakes recently, Bullock delivers a reasonably engaging performance as the neighbouring blow-in who's surprised to be lumped with all the Third World immigrants - "It's not like I'm even an immigrant - I'm from Canada." And having been 'temporarily' replaced by someone she fired only moments earlier, Margaret has a lot of attitude changing to go through before she can once again stroll down Fifth Avenue like a local. The clash of cultures when Manhattan-meets-Alaska provide some of the film's best moments - especially with the tart-tongued Grandma Annie (Betty White). Reynolds, whose acting talent has recently seen him go from buffed-up action man in X-Men to disturbed actor in The Nines, here plays to his comedy strengths already displayed in last year's Definitely Maybe. As chemistry goes, Reynolds and Bullock have a palpable spark - something that manages to squeeze a few chuckles from an otherwise predictable script by Peter Chiarelli. In a rom-com that will do well in DVD sales, whatever about its run in a cinema season packed with competing fare like Harry Potter, Public Enemies and the upcoming Taking Of Pelham 123, Reynolds - who, ironically, is Canadian - allows Bullock rediscover that snappy one-liner personality she lost on recent flops. For a rainy evening when there's not a whole lot of outdoor distractions on offer, The Proposal is just about worth its admission.