Hollywood hues
Laugh riot

Ervell E. Menezes finds Anne Fletcher’s The Proposal a delightful entertainer

Remember the super strict boss played by Glen Close and Meryl Streep in recent Hollywood films? Well now the nice-girl-next-door Sandra Bullock sheds that image to join that club as the no-nonsense book editor Margaret Tate in The Proposal. And it is her fawning assistant Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds) whose life she turns upside down and inside out in this delightful romantic comedy.

Andrew is no admirer of Margaret (she hates to be called Maggie) and in fact like the rest of the office refers to her as a witch but it is his driving ambition that makes him her confidante. She knows he’ll do anything to get his book published and hence has him eating out of her palm.

But when Margaret finds herself in a fix and in fear of being deported to Canada she hits him below the belt by saying that they are engaged and to be married soon. Worse is to follow when she flies to Antarctica to celebrate his grandma’s (Betty White) 90th birthday.

It is only then that she realises that Andrew is affluent (she "you didn’t tell me you were rich"; he "I didn’t tell you I was poor") because she was so full of herself and never bothered to find out anything about him. What’s more, Andrew’s is a doting family. Dad Joe (Craig T. Nelson) may be a bit distant but ma Grace (Mary Steenburgen) is gushing and grandma Annie is bawdy and overfriendly.

It is a nervy weekend for Andrew and Margaret as they have to act as a cooing couple with Margaret as the focal point of the celebration. It is a clever and imaginative screenplay by Pete Chiarelli and director Anne Fletcher gives it the fillip it requires. Than Reynolds and Bullock go through the alarming situations quite adroitly. Olive Stapleton’s caressing camerawork does full justice to the enchanting outdoors.

If one has to fault this 108-minute laugh riot, it is that the middle is a wee bit drawn out and grandma and Ramone (Oscar Nunez) tend to overdo their roles, resorting to needless slapstick and bawdy American humour in the bargain. But the final twist and the convincing chemistry between the "two lovers" gives the narrative a welcome edge.

Sandra Bullock does very well to prove her versatility just like Meryl Streep did in The Devil Wears Prada and Ryan Reynolds matches her skill, frame for frame. Mary Steenburgen, whose "Cross Creek" role still lingers in memory, and Craig T, Nelson are merely supportive in this delightful entertainer. Well worth seeing.

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