BOTTOM LINE: Sandra Bullock and a mostly genuine cast try to make this rom-com work but the film does not spark, largely thanks to the lack of believability between the concept and adapting it to fit the rom-com formula.

THE GOOD: Sandra Bullock channels a bit of Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly character from The Devil Wears Prada, particularly in the opening scenes with her character Margaret Tate, an emotionally aloof, cruel book publisher who terrorises her staff with her demanding and inconsiderate nature. This is a welcome change for Bullock who tends to stay with the warm, fuzzy and goofy characters. She has an assistant Andrew (Ryan Reynolds) who capitulates to her every whim on the hope that she will promote him to editor. One day, Margaret is told by her boss that she will be deported back to Canada because she did not complete her visa requirements as she was supposed to. In desperation, she cajoles Andrew in to a sham marriage to legitimise her visa. The premise is good, if not overly original, and allows for some good by-play between Bullock and Reynolds, particularly in the opening scenes where they barter with each other to get a deal that will give them both what they want. As part of the sham, Margaret goes with Andrew to a family birthday, where she discovers a whole other side to Andrew that she never knew, and eventually, the seemingly cold heart of hers begins to melt. The actors playing Andrew’s family are well suited for the roles, lending a genuine believability to the proceedings; stand-outs include Betty White, Mary Steenburgen and Craig T. Nelson. “The Proposal” has its moments, and does well when it returns to sequences that directly cover the sham marriage between Margaret and David.

THE BAD: The inconsistency between the sham marriage concept underlining the film and the filmmakers’ attempt to map it on top of the traditional romantic comedy formula ultimately makes this film completely unbelievable. We are to believe that two characters who loathe each other from the outset quite convincingly, are to somehow find the spark of love within a weekend, to the point where they want to turn their sham marriage in to a real one. Hollywood is great for doing unbelievable things but in this case, the suspension of disbelief does not kick in at all. As a result, none of the “genuine” moments resonate with any sort of truth, with a good example being a sequence where Margaret’s emotions are finally stirred for the first time when she is accepted in to Andrew’s loving family, something she had forgotten about ever since her parents were killed when she was in her teens and she had to fend for herself. The moment itself generates identification with the character, but none of it comes together, leaving a film that becomes less than the sum of its parts. Another problem is that Ryan Reynolds does not look particularly comfortable or suitable in the role he is playing. It may be that Bullock’s presence overpowers his, but he does not seem to match her that well at all for the romantic scenes, other than to be the requisite love interest for her character. “The Proposal” is let down by its adherence to formula. If the filmmakers had chosen to do something more interesting as opposed to taking the tried and true path of ‘exposing the sham which then leads to a happy ending where all is forgiven and the couple can live happily ever after’, they might have had a very watchable film.