Sandra Bullock Movie:

		List Price: $44.99		Label: Touchstone Home Entertainment Salesrank: 1417 Released: October 13, 2009
		Our Price: $30.12
		Used Price: $26.93
		MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Media: Blu-ray

Editorial Review:
Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) terrorizes her publishing house co-workers with her abrasive, take-no-prisoners management style, especially her overworked assistant Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds). But when Margaret is threatened with deportation to her native Canada because of an immigration technicality, the quick-thinking exec announces that she and Andrew are engaged to be married. Ambitious Andrew agrees to go along with her scheme—if there’s a long-awaited promotion in it for him. Everything is going according to Margaret’s plan, until an overzealous immigration official makes it his business to prove that the couple’s engagement is bogus. To demonstrate her commitment to her new fiancé, Margaret agrees to celebrate the 90th birthday of his colorful grandmother (Betty White) — in Alaska. The editrix’s type-A ways put her at odds with her eccentric future in-laws with hilarious consequences, until the Paxtons teach Margaret a thing or two about family.

Description of The Proposal [Blu-ray]:
Rom-com favorite Sandra Bullock and the affably charming Ryan Reynolds’s superb chemistry turn The Proposal from otherwise standard romantic-comedy fare to one that is entertaining and sure to garner laughs. Margaret (Sandra Bullock) is a workaholic, tyrannical book editor (reminiscent of The Devil Wears Prada) who suddenly finds her career in jeopardy as she faces deportation back to Canada. Her solution is to simply fake an engagement to her unsuspecting assistant Andrew (Ryan Reynolds), who in turn blackmails her for a promotion. However, when Margaret is forced to head to Alaska with Andrew to visit his family in an effort to make their story believable to the deportation officers, they soon realize that their plan may not be so simple after all. The supporting cast of Dad (Craig T. Nelson), Mom (Mary Steenburgen), and kooky Grandma (Betty White, still a scene-stealer at 87) is great casting that makes for many amusing scenes. Bottom line: witty Reynolds and Bullock are perfect sparring partners for each other and not half bad to look at either. --Lisanne Chastain

Stills from The Proposal (Click for larger image)

The Proposal [Blu-ray] Reviews:
Funny & Entertaining
2009-11-21 - Sandra Bullock is a great actress and she really knows what she is doing. I have respect for her movies and her business savvy. I loved the location of the filming. The Proposal is very esay to watch and relate to, for both men & women. Lots of funny parts and could be viewed as somewhat educational if viewed between the lines.

I enjoyed the movie quite well. But I am an avid Sandra Bullock fan, so I guess I'm a bit biased.

Awesome Movie
2009-11-11 - Very funny. Sandra and Ryan make an awesome pair! Loved Betty White as the sneak, straight talking grandmother.

Formula, yet the actors and dialog make the movie
2009-11-05 - Margaret Tate, "Satan's mistress" (Sandra Bullock), is a high powered publisher and Canadian citizen. She finds due to a few faux pas, she is about to be deported. So she bullies her executive assistant Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds) into marriage, thus "The Proposal". However the tide may have turned when she sees his home and family.

Many people think Grandma Annie (Betty White) makes the movie with her dry one-liners and attitude. And a lot of Betty white the actor shows through Grandma Annie the character.

The movie mostly takes place in a mock up of what Sitka Alaska should look like. It makes you want to go there. One of my favorite scenes is when Margaret is warned not to let the puppy outside or the eagles will snatch it.

Be sure to listen to the voice over commentary. Most voice over commentaries are dry dissertations from film historians or drunks that do not remember the movie. This commentary however is quite interesting and informative.

Also be sure to watch the alternate ending.

Again Blu-ray is just Blu-ray so I will not bore you with the details.

Practical Magic (Keepcase) ~ Sandra Bullock

Missing something
2009-10-26 - I love Sandra Bullock, and most of her movies. This movie was not that good. Beautiful location, beautiful people,
etc... BUT there was no spark between the two leads. It just did not work. I fell asleep, rewound, and fell asleep
again. Sandra you need more serious roles, you are getting to old for the cutesy girl roles.

Middle of the road RomCom
2009-10-24 - Championing a film starring Ryan Reynolds may be the easiest way to foster goodwill with the internet crowd these days. The man seems unable to do any wrong even when appearing (albeit far too briefly) in train wrecks like X-Men Origins: Wolverine or stealing Scarlett Johansson from the "I'm going to marry that woman" fantasy of every straight man walking the earth. Whatever his crime (filmic or perceived) his winning personality and great comedic delivery allows him to waltz out of any publicity nightmare as the hero of the fanboy film world. However, when he appears in something like The Proposal, an ordinary ho-hum romantic comedy spruced up by bits of unexpected ingenuity, he just passes under the radar without much fuss or ceremony. He doesn't save the movie as it never really needed saving; he merely ends up as one of many talented stars in a single-serving comedy that most will find enjoyable at least the first time through.

Unfortunately, that's the film's major drawback: it suffers on repeat viewings. The story of The Proposal hasn't a single moment or great running joke that elevates it as a comedy or any significant dramatic heft that makes it a great romance story. It's a middle of the road effort in every way. If it's memorable for any reason at all it's the impressive cast rounded up - and it's this that makes the film more than just another romantic comedy to throw on to the huge flaming pile of mediocre movies. Sandra Bullock's career has second-rate romances and thrillers strewn about like a Kansas Blockbuster after a twister, so it's no surprise that The Proposal can be heralded as a positive step forward in her recently slumped career: it doesn't suck.

When power-publisher Margaret Tate (Bullock) discovers she's a few days away from being deported and thus losing her job complements of an expired visa, her mind begins racing? Can she work from Canada? Negative. Can she pull some strings at immigration? Nope, her disobeying immigration's decree of not leaving the country has gotten her banned from returning to the U.S. for a full year. So she uses the only card on the table: green card wedding. Taking her assistant Andrew Paxton (Reynolds) as a hostage in marriage, she "reveals" their engagement and begins the long first dance of green card fraud that will force the two of them to become extremely intimate in the span of a weekend so they can defy the skeptical eye of Mr. Gilbertson (Denis O'Hare), the immigrations officer who knows what's going on right from the get-go. Quickly we learn that the forced medley of "Getting to know you" that constitutes the story's plot is a solo and not a duet like you'd think; after years of slaving under Margaret, Andrew knows every intimate detail about her life, making her the only one who has to do some digging that weekend. The couple takes two days to visit Andrew's palatial family estate in Alaska where the couple's future nuptials become the sole focus and the two find their plans fast-tracked by a granny (Betty White) who wants to see her grandson married in a shotgun wedding. Through it all, Andrew's parents (Craig T. Nelson and Mary Steenburgen) function as each other's foils, one the continually disapproving authority figure Andrew seeks to please and the other an unflinching voice of reason and support.

The film's reception doesn't suffer or really benefit from a high-definition debut, which is odd considering it takes place in the always scenic Alaska. However, the film never indulges in panoramic shots of natural grandeur and so the only elements that make you take note of increased resolution are the pelvic thrusts of a nearly-nude Oscar Nunez or the unfairly never-as-nude-as-Nunez Malin Akerman as a former love interest of Andrew's who hangs about supposedly making you doubt what Andrew's final decision will be.

Blu-ray Bonus Features:

There are a few deleted scenes, but the most notable of the bunch is an overwrought and far too long alternate ending that makes it all too easy to understand why it was cut in favor of the comparatively brief and equally satisfying ending in the film. The alternate ending just goes on forever...it's agonizing. Director Anne Fletcher chose correctly in terms of which ending was the right one. There's an audio commentary starring the director (a decent enough effort if you're so taken with the film) and a featurette with witty comments by Bullock, Reynolds and White. It's fun enough to watch and is short enough to not wear out its welcome.

The film merits a single viewing, but it's hard to endorse a purchase until you know for sure that it can make you laugh even on a second viewing. It didn't for me, but maybe you find more humor in the film's modest charms.