Chicago Sun-Times
3 stars out of 4 -- "[Bullock] is likable here because she doesn't overdo it....THE PROPOSAL is much enhanced by all of the supporting performances." 06/17/2009Box Office
3 stars out of 5 -- "THE PROPOSAL is rooted in the most classical of conventions and still finds ways to be surprisingly enchanting. Most credit should go to the criminally underappreciated Sandra Bullock and the reliably disarming Ryan Reynolds." 06/17/2009 Hollywood Reporter
"[A]n engaging, well-crafted lark that proves 'high concept' isn't necessarily a tired tactic....Bullock also is talented enough to play convincingly against her genial image here as the proverbial boss from hell..." 06/14/2009 USA Today
"Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds prove a likable duo....Reynolds has the appropriate good looks, easygoing charm and comic timing to be a natural in this setting..." 06/19/2009 Los Angeles Times
"Bullock's deft physical comedy, one of her most endearing qualities, is given a full run. And Reynolds' ability to deliver a line, or a look, with withering, surgical precision is there at every turn." 06/19/2009 Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "First-time screenwriter Peter Chiarelli's dialogue has a wry Big Apple zing....A pedigree cast, fun premise and punchy dialogue make Bullock's return to romantic comedy look a great catch..." 06/23/2009 Entertainment Weekly
"[S]aved by fizzy screwball chemistry between the hunky, snarky Reynolds and Bullock, who hasn't been this appealing since, well, SPEED." -- Grade: B 10/16/2009 ReelViews 6 of 10
The Proposal is a standard-order, by-the-book romantic comedy that offers nothing remotely fresh or new while following a formula even neophytes know by heart. For some people, that's enough. All a certain segment of the audience wants from romantic comedies are familiar names, smiley faces, and hearts dotting the letter "i". Others, who are a bit more discriminating, will recognize that although The Proposal follows a paint-by-numbers script, it fails one key acid test: it doesn't sell the romance. The genre is rife with contrivances, but those shaky plot devices are easy enough to forgive, if not entirely forget, if the movie catches the viewer up in the spirit of falling in love. It's what separates the enjoyable rom-coms from the ones that strive to tickle the underbelly of mediocrity, and The Proposal does not come out on the right side of that divider...The cast isn't populated by heavyweights. It has been a while since Sandra Bullock has been in the fast lane, and it's been about a decade since she was a prime romantic comedy actress. Ryan Reynolds, who showed flashes of genuine talent in Adventureland, is back to phoning it in. (Although, to be fair, his flummoxed expression when Andrew "learns" he's engaged to Margaret - which carries through more than one scene - is possibly the film's funniest element.) Mary Steenburgen and Craig T. Nelson are playing the stereotyped father/mother roles, and Betty White is pretty much exhuming her Golden Girls character. (This is not one of those roles in which she drops a string of f-bombs and other assorted profanities - something she has done on more than one occasion to get a cheap guffaw.)...My opinion of The Proposal is similar to how I felt about the not-dissimilar New in Town. The humor level in this film is a little better and the actors have a marginally higher charisma quotient, but the productions are peas in a pod. They fail to engage for similar reasons. Both Bullock (with While You Were Sleeping) and Reynolds (with Definitely, Maybe) have solidly enjoyable, derivative romantic comedy titles in their filmographies, and it would be more rewarding to investigate those than endure the regurgitated, cardboard taste of The Proposal. - James Berardinelli
Chicago Sun-Times 6 of 10
"The Proposal" is a movie about a couple who start out hating each other and end up liking each other. It's a funny thing about that. I started out hating the movie and ended up liking it...It opens on a rather cheerless note, as the portrait of Margaret (Sandra Bullock), a tyrannical book editor, and Andrew (Ryan Reynolds), her long-suffering assistant. Known on office instant message as the Witch, she terrorizes underlings, fires the man who wants her job and orders Andrew to marry her...How that happens is, she's a Canadian in danger of being deported -- she imperiously ignored the law -- and now she figures if she gets married, she'll get her green card. She and Andrew blackmail each other in their prenuptial hostage negotiations, and fly off to Sitka, Alaska, to meet his folks. Sitka turns out to be a charming waterfront town, filled with chic little shops like the Fudgery, no fast-food stores or franchise chains and a waterfront that looks less like a working fishing harbor than a tourist resort. Perhaps that's because the movie was was filmed not in Alaska, but in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Alaska might have been too real for this fantasy..."The Proposal" is much enhanced by all of the supporting performances. Betty White, at 87, makes her character 89 and performs a Native American sunrise ceremony beside a campfire in the forest, which is not easy, especially in the Alaskan summer when the sun hardly sets. And look for a character named Ramone (Oscar Nunez), who will remind you of an element in "Local Hero."..."The Proposal" recycles a plot that was already old when Tracy and Hepburn were trying it out. You see it coming from a great distance away. As it draws closer, you don't duck out of the way, because it is so cheerfully done, you don't mind being hit by it. - Roger Ebert
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