The Proposal review: Bullock and Reynolds still charm

Not every film night needs to be a statement. Sometimes the family wants an easy, warm evening, and The Proposal is exactly that. Sandra Bullock is one of our favourite actresses, and watching her here is a pleasure from the first scene to the last. Add Ryan Reynolds and a very good supporting cast, and you have a romcom that is easy to recommend, even if it does not reinvent anything.

The story in one line

Margaret Tate is a demanding Canadian book editor who finds out she is about to be deported. Her solution is to announce that she is engaged to her assistant, Andrew, and to force him to go along with it. To sell the story, the two travel to his family’s home in Alaska for a weekend.

It is a classic romcom setup: fake relationship, forced proximity, family in the way. The film knows exactly which genre it belongs to, and it plays the tropes with enough confidence that you enjoy them rather than resent them.

Sandra Bullock carries it

Sandra Bullock plays her role superbly. Margaret could easily have been a one-note boss, but Bullock gives her an edge, a sense of humour and a vulnerability that appear in just the right places. It is a performance that makes you root for a character who, on paper, you might not like.

Ryan Reynolds fits in very well. His Andrew is the right mix of sarcasm and decency, and he has the comic timing to keep up with her. The chemistry between the two is the film’s biggest asset: the banter lands, the awkward moments are funny, and when the film asks you to believe in them, you do.

A supporting cast that earns its place

The Alaska scenes work because of the people around the leads. Betty White is a delight as Andrew’s grandmother, and Mary Steenburgen and Craig T. Nelson give the family a warmth that makes the weekend feel real. It is a film that spends time with its secondary characters, and the story is better for it.

The cast and the people behind it

Sandra Bullock plays Margaret Tate, a Canadian editor-in-chief at a New York publisher, and Ryan Reynolds plays Andrew Paxton, her long-suffering assistant. When Margaret’s visa problem threatens to send her back to Canada, she persuades Andrew to pose as her fiancé, and the two travel to meet his family in Alaska.

That family is a strong ensemble. Craig T. Nelson and Mary Steenburgen play Andrew’s parents, Joe and Grace, and Betty White plays his grandmother, Annie. Malin Åkerman plays Gertrude, Andrew’s ex-girlfriend. Denis O’Hare plays Mr. Gilbertson, the immigration agent, Oscar Nunez plays Ramone, a jack-of-all-trades in Sitka, and Aasif Mandvi and Michael Mosley appear in smaller roles.

Anne Fletcher directed from a screenplay by Peter Chiarelli, who wrote it in 2005. David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman produced, Oliver Stapleton shot it, and Aaron Zigman wrote the score. Julia Roberts was approached for the lead and declined. Bullock was announced in May 2007, and Fletcher signed on in January 2008.

Where it was filmed

The story is set in Alaska, but it was not filmed there. Principal photography began in April 2008 in Rockport, Massachusetts, which was partly rebuilt to look like the Alaskan town of Sitka. Further scenes were shot in Manchester-by-the-Sea, in Boston and in Lower Manhattan for the New York offices. The budget was $40 million, and the film has around 350 effects shots, some of which use computer-generated imagery.

Release and box office

The Proposal premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood on 1 June 2009 and opened in the United States on 19 June 2009. It earned more than $34 million in its opening weekend and went on to take more than $164 million in the United States and Canada and more than $317 million worldwide. That made it the 21st highest-grossing film of 2009, and against a budget of $40 million it was a clear commercial success. The DVD and Blu-ray followed on 13 October 2009, and the film runs 107 minutes.

What critics and audiences thought

This is a film where critics and audiences disagreed. Rotten Tomatoes lists 45% positive from 187 reviews with an average rating of 5.32, and Metacritic gives it a score of 48, which counts as mixed or average. The Rotten Tomatoes consensus sums up the problem: Bullock and Reynolds have plenty of chemistry, but they are let down by the film’s devotion to formula. Audiences were much kinder and gave it an A-minus on CinemaScore.

The split is useful if you are choosing a romantic comedy. The critics who disliked it mostly objected to a predictable script, not to the performances. Bullock was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical, the film won the People’s Choice Award for Favorite Comedy Movie, and it picked up several Teen Choice Awards, including one for the dance scene with Bullock and Betty White.

Our rating sits between the two camps. It is a comfortable, well-cast evening and not a film that does anything new, which is exactly what 3.5 stars is meant to say.

Is it a good family movie night?

For a family with older children, yes. It is rated PG-13 for some innuendo and language, so it is best for teenagers and up, and it works equally well as an evening for two. It is warm, it is funny and it asks nothing difficult of you.

• Best age: teenagers and up.
• Mood: pick a night when you want something light and feel-good.
• Runtime: about 107 minutes, which fits easily into a weeknight.
• Another family evening: our Father of the Bride (1991) review covers a similar mood with a very different story.

Why it is a 3.5

The Proposal is a very enjoyable film that stays inside its genre. You can see where it is going from the first act, and it does not try to surprise you. That is not a flaw so much as a limit: it is a good romcom, but not a great film.

For us, the evening was the point. We had a lovely time with a film we enjoyed, and that is exactly what it is for.

Want to watch it tonight? Prime Video’s 30-day free trial is an easy way to try a big catalogue at home. Catalogues change, so check availability before you sign up.

Is The Proposal worth watching?

Yes. It is a warm, funny romcom carried by the chemistry between Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. It does not reinvent the genre, so we rate it 3.5 out of 5.

Is The Proposal suitable for kids?

It is rated PG-13 for some innuendo and language. It works best for teenagers and up, and is a good choice for a couples or family evening with older children.

Who directed The Proposal?

Anne Fletcher directed it.

Who is in the cast of The Proposal?

Sandra Bullock plays Margaret Tate and Ryan Reynolds plays Andrew Paxton, with Betty White, Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson, Malin Åkerman and Oscar Nuñez in supporting roles.

When was The Proposal released?

The Proposal was released on 19 June 2009.

Where was The Proposal filmed?

Mostly in Massachusetts. Principal photography began in April 2008 in Rockport, which was partly rebuilt to stand in for Sitka, Alaska, with more scenes shot in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Boston and Lower Manhattan. The Alaskan setting is a film location created elsewhere, not footage from Alaska itself.

How long is The Proposal?

107 minutes, which is a little under two hours. That makes it an easy weeknight film, even with children who need an earlier bedtime.

Was The Proposal a box office hit?

Yes. It cost about 40 million dollars and earned more than 317 million dollars worldwide, including more than 164 million in the United States and Canada. It was the 21st highest-grossing film of 2009, even though critics were mixed.

Who else is in The Proposal besides Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds?

Craig T. Nelson and Mary Steenburgen play Andrew’s parents, Betty White plays his grandmother, Malin Åkerman plays his ex-girlfriend Gertrude, Denis O’Hare plays the immigration agent and Oscar Nunez plays Ramone.