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Margaret Tate is so inhumanly power hungry that she's got the whole staff of her publishing company calling her "It." She's so uptight that her ponytail hardly dares to swing, and she's so career-driven she'd just as easily fake an engagement and marriage to save her editorial job.
Andrew Paxton is Tate's personal assistant, the underdog go-getter who's dying for the type of editorial job his boss is on the verge of losing. The Sitka, Alaska, native is the perfect prop in Tate's proposal ploy. They both want to save their careers; they can't stand one another; and they both seem to be competing for the same position. It truly is a match made in Heaven.
Even before they're about to get hitched, Tate (Sandra Bullock) and Paxton (Ryan Reynolds) are virtually two peas in a pod. She calls him late at night with client dilemmas. He knows her favorite latte flavor and picks up her order every day before work. She nags him about publishing deals and often uses Paxton as a verbal punching bag/stress ball. He waits until she turns her back then proceeds to make fun of her across the company's chat network.
But the real games begin only after Tate has a run-in with immigration services and is told she's about to be deported to her homeland of Canada. Out of desperation, she milks the fiancé roll with the underling Paxton as her dummy.
Here, "The Proposal" takes a much-appreciated comedic turn. It makes for a nice change of pace, especially when Paxton forces his desperate boss to kneel in the middle of a New York sidewalk and make a "real" proposal to him.
And with these changes of the wind come a welcome change in scenery. The happy couple don't exactly make it all the way to Canada, but they come close. Paxton's close-knit Alaskan family, or rather, nonchalantly wealthy Alaskan dynasty, invites the pair up to visit for Grandma Annie's 99th birthday, and they jump at the chance to prove their existence as an actual couple before they tie the knot.
More hilarity ensues as the two try to feign infatuation. The boat ride to the Paxton family estate, the re-telling of the proposal story, the wedding dress fitting, the bachelorette party and the countless nights the "couple" spends in separate beds are definite laugh-worthy scenes.
"The Proposal" passes with flying colors because its main characters fit the bill so perfectly. They absolutely nail the proverbial mismatched lovers roles, but the do it with such enthusiasm, energy and ingenuity that we hardly realize this film is a cliché. And to be fair, it isn't entirely trite. We all know that Paxton and Tate are destined to fall in love, otherwise this film would be a total failure. But the way their relationship evolves actually holds viewers' interest. We like to watch Paxton balance his dream career with his loving family that misses his presence at holidays and mealtimes. We like to watch Tate cringe when Paxton's father calls her "Maggie," and we like it even more when she later learns to love someone other than herself and to actually love herself.
The film not only excels in terms of its central focus — the couple falling into, out of and tiptoeing around love — but also in its background appeal. The setting fluctuates between the downtown New York office building where the publishers keep their noses to the grindstone, the crisp Alaskan landscape, complete with snowy mountains and picturesque sunrises and the warm, symbolically inviting atmosphere of the Paxton's expansive home. Even background characters mix it up — Grandma is ageless and feisty, Paxton's father is surprisingly gruff, considering his son's demeanor and his ex-girlfriend is back to visit, effortless perfection on display.
She's not the only one to exude perfection where this film is concerned. "The Proposal" takes the cake in terms of romantic comedies. This in-theaters picture packs equal measures of love and laughter, and I propose it's a definite must-see this summer.
E-mail: freestyle@lnpnews.com
