Rom-com by the book

Though a guilty pleasure for moviegoers everywhere, romantic comedies have become almost painfully predictable: Boy meets girl, boy and girl can’t stand one another, boy and girl spend a few days forced into close quarters and learn that they are (gasp!) meant to be, leading one to make a very public declaration of love and devotion to the other at movie’s end.

As to be expected, “The Proposal,” released June 20, follows this map of modern romantic comedies to the letter. Margaret Tate, played by Sandra Bullock, is the hard-nosed editor-in-chief of fictional publishing house Colden Books, and Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds) is Margaret’s self-sacrificing assistant, a New York City transplant who has busted his hump for three years to satisfy his boss’ every work-related whim.

When Canadian-born Margaret finds she will be deported from the United States for failing to fulfill the requirements of her Visa application, she comes up with a plan: blackmailing her assistant into marrying her so she can stay in the country.

To add some credence to their sudden claims of undying love and to reduce suspicions from a federal immigrations official (Denis O’Hare), Margaret and Andrew travel to Andrew’s parents’ house in small-town Alaska to announce their engagement and fool his family into thinking they’re together. Cue Andrew’s prerequisite wacky grandmother (played by the wonderful Betty White), daddy issues and doe-eyed high school sweetheart (Malin Ackerman) and audiences have a supporting cast made in rom-com heaven.

Throughout the weekend, Margaret and Andrew stumble their way through telling the story of how they met, how he proposed and how much they care about one another. Of course, they also come to realize that neither is the person they expected from their stressful days spent at the office, and a budding romance develops out of thin air.

Bullock, a talented actress with great comedic timing, has made herself famous by playing sweet, bumbling “Miss Congeniality” types and, as a result, is somewhat hard to believe as an overbearing editor so terrifying that Andrew must alert their entire office that “the witch is on her broom” via instant message at the beginning of the film.
 
As the movie progresses and Margaret lets her guard down, however, Bullock eases into the role. Reynolds was a solid choice for the sensitive yet snarky Andrew, and his unassuming good looks are enough to bring teens to their local theaters in droves.
 
Though there was chemistry between the two actors, their characters’ leaps from loathing to loving were too unsubstantiated for even a film of the romantic ilk.

Unfortunately, the best parts of the movie were shown in its previews, leaving awkward moments involving unplanned nudity and palpable sexual tension to be repeats for the audience rather than fresh jokes in a tired genre. A dramatic life-or-death scene involving a boat, a buoy and an overboard Margaret is overwhelmingly cheesy, and although it was surely meant to be a climax of the film, is one of its low points.

Fans of romantic comedies will enjoy watching Andrew and Margaret squirm on screen for a couple of hours, but those seeking something refreshing and well-written are better off saving their popcorn – and $9.50 – for a different film.