| The Proposal | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Anne Fletcher |
| Written by |
|
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Oliver Stapleton |
| Edited by | Priscilla Nedd-Friendly |
| Music by | Aaron Zigman |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 108 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $40 million[2] |
| Box office | $317.4 million[2] |
The Proposal is a 2009 Americanromantic comedy film directed byAnne Fletcher and written by Peter Chiarelli. It is produced byKurtzman/Orci Productions,Mandeville Films andTouchstone Pictures forWalt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, and starsSandra Bullock andRyan Reynolds in lead roles, alongsideMalin Åkerman,Craig T. Nelson,Mary Steenburgen andBetty White in supporting roles. The plot centers on a Canadian executive who learns that she may facedeportation from the U.S. because hervisa renewal application was denied. Determined to retain her position aseditor-in-chief of a publishing house, she convinces her long-suffering personal assistant to temporarily act as her fiancé.
Development began in 2005 when Chiarelli wrote the script. Principal filming occurred from April to May 2008. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the performances and chemistry between Bullock and Reynolds but criticized its screenplay and what was seen as a formulaic plot structure. It was a box office success, grossing over $317 million worldwide on its $40 million budget. Bullock was nominated for theGolden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.
Margaret Tate is a Canadian editor-in-chief at a New York City book publishing company, universally disliked by her subordinates for her pushy personality. A visa violation means she is threatened with deportation back to Canada. Not wanting to lose her position and life in New York, Margaret coerces her long-suffering personal assistant, Andrew Paxton, into marrying her so she can get agreen card, telling him that her deportation would set back his dream to become an editor. Suspicious U.S. immigration agent Gilbertson tells the couple that if they are committing fraud, Margaret will be deported permanently and Andrew will be fined $250,000 and may spend five years in prison. Margaret accepts Andrew's conditions that she make him an editor and publish a particular book that he has recommended.
They travel to Andrew's hometown ofSitka, Alaska, to see his parents, Joe and Grace, and his grandmother Annie. Margaret is surprised to discover that the Paxtons are wealthy. At the welcome home party, Margaret meets waiter Ramone and Andrew's ex-girlfriend Gertrude. Andrew's father, Joe, confronts Andrew, saying he is merely using Margaret to get ahead in his career. Andrew immediately announces their engagement. The next day, Grace and Annie take Margaret to a bar for her bachelorette party, where Ramone is an exotic dancer. Gertrude tells Margaret that the night before their high school graduation, Andrew had proposed to her, but she refused as she didn’t want to leave Sitka for New York. Margaret overhears Andrew's parents arguing about an ongoing conflict between Andrew and Joe. She asks Andrew but he refuses to talk about it. She confides in him about her own life and they grow closer.
The family convinces Andrew and Margaret to marry the following day. Margaret admits to Andrew that, since her parents died when she was 16, she has forgotten how it feels to have a family. Gilbertson has contacted Joe about the possible fraud, and Joe has flown Gilbertson to Sitka, where Gilbertson offers the couple a deal: If they confess the engagement is a sham, Margaret will simply be deported and neither of them will face further penalties. They refuse, continuing to claim they are in love.
The wedding is officiated by Ramone. It begins normally until Margaret, touched by the closeness of Andrew's family, stops the ceremony and tells everyone the truth. Gilbertson says she has 24 hours to leave for Canada; she returns to the house to pack. Andrew pursues Margaret but she has already gone. He finds a note from her promising to publish the book he discovered before she leaves. Gertrude comforts Andrew as another argument arises between him and Joe. While they argue, Annie appears to have a heart attack. As she and the family are airlifted towards the hospital, she begs Joe and Andrew to reconcile before she dies. Once they agree, she admits she faked the heart attack to catch up with Margaret, and tells the pilot to divert to catch her plane. Margaret's plane takes off just as they arrive. Andrew's parents realize he really loves Margaret.
Andrew arrives at the New York office as Margaret is packing. He tells her he loves her and they kiss. They inform Gilbertson that they are now engaged for real. He exclaims, "Let's do it!" During the end credits, Gilbertson asks Margaret, Andrew, his parents, and Ramone increasingly ridiculous questions.
Peter Chiarelli wrote the script for the film in 2005.[3] In May 2007, it was announced thatSandra Bullock had been given a lead role forThe Proposal.[4]Julia Roberts was originally approached for the lead but declined.[5] Nearly two months later, it was reported that plans were being finalized forRyan Reynolds to star opposite Bullock.[3] In January 2008,Touchstone Pictures signedAnne Fletcher to direct.[6]
Shooting forThe Proposal began on April 2, 2008 inRockport, Massachusetts.[7] In the days leading up to production, part of the town was remodeled to simulateSitka, Alaska, the primary setting.[7]Principal photography began on April 9 at Bearskin Neck, and continued for 24 hours. Filming resumed at theMotif Number One building on Bradley Wharf (April 14–16), the Haskins Building (April 15–18), and the central business district of Rockport (April 17).[7][8] Principal photography relocated toManchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts on April 22, for approximately two weeks. City officials accommodated the producers by renting out all their parking lots. Filming forThe Proposal was delayed briefly when Bullock and her husband were involved in a car accident.[9] The wedding scene was filmed in a three-story twentieth centuryVictorian home; photography at the residence lasted three weeks.[10] In an interview withThe New York Times, the homeowners stated thatNelson Coates knocked on their door asking for leaves. The owners directed Coates to other residences but eventually gave the producer a tour of the house. Production occurred on the first floor of the home.[7][10] Outside of theCape Ann area, filming took place inBoston, Massachusetts, at theState Street Bank Building and inLower Manhattan inNew York City.[11]The Proposal contained 350 special effect shots, with some parts edited usingcomputer-generated imagery.[12] The score forThe Proposal was composed byAaron Zigman, who recorded it with theHollywood Studio Symphony at the Sony Scoring Stage.[13]
As part of an extensive promotional campaign, Reynolds discussed his participation in a nude scene. Expressing that she had been initially nervous, Bullock stated in an interview withSky News that "when everyone else acts like it's just a normal day it really helps you relax." Although she said that producers had provided them withfig leaves, Bullock stated that they would continuously fall off. She added, "You could literally see everything."[14] Similar sentiments were expressed by Reynolds, who in an interview withPeople, stated, "Filming a scene that involves being entirely naked and takes a couple days can be a little awkward." He continued: "Thankfully you're there for so long and you're doing it for so long that you dispense with the awkwardness pretty quickly and start to have mundane, normal conversations – the difference being you're not wearing pants."[15]
The film premiered on June 1, 2009, at theEl Capitan Theatre inHollywood, California,[16] and was released to theaters on June 19, 2009.
The Proposal was released byTouchstone Home Entertainment onDVD andBlu-ray on October 13, 2009.[17] It sold over 2.4 million units within its first week, translating to an addition of $39.3 million in the box office.[18] In its second week, sales numbers declined by 70% to 623,744 units, ranking second among DVD sales of the week.[18] By July 2013,The Proposal had sold over 5.6 million units and earned over $90 million in sales.[18]
The Proposal was released in the United States on June 19, 2009. On its opening day, it grossed an estimated $12.7 million in 3,056 theaters, becoming the highest-grossing film of the day.[19] It went on to gross over $34 million on its opening weekend, beatingYear One,Up, andThe Hangover.[20] In an exit poll conducted byDisney, nearly 63% of the opening audience consisted of female viewers, 78% were eighteen or older, and 71% were classified as couples.[20] It was the biggest opening weekend of any film in Bullock's career, nearly doubling her previous record,Premonition.[21] As of October 2011, the film had grossed over $164 million in the United States and Canada.[2]
Box office performances showed similar numbers in international markets. The film was released inAustralia on June 18, 2009, grossing over $2.8 million on its opening weekend. InRussia, the film grossed over $2.6 million on its opening weekend, accounting for 34% of all total film revenue in that country.[22] InSouth Africa the film debuted at number two, losing out to the new releaseIce Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. It managed to gross over $2.6 million as of October 2011.[22] In the United Kingdom, estimated first opening weekend grosses stand at $5.3 million.[23] The film has grossed over $317 million worldwide, with international grosses standing at $153 million.[2] It is the twenty-first highest-grossing film of 2009.[24]
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On review aggregation websiteRotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 45% based on 187 reviews, with an average rating of 5.32/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds exhibit plenty of chemistry, but they're let down byThe Proposal's devotion to formula."[25] OnMetacritic, which assigns aweighted average rating, the film has a score of 48 out of 100, based on 30 reviews from critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[26] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[27]
Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times offered a positive review, giving the film three out of four stars despite complaining that the film "recycles a plot that was already old whenTracy andHepburn were trying it out" but adding he was eventually won over by the performances.[28] Peter Travers ofRolling Stone was very critical of the film, calling it insipid. He wrote, "Anne Fletcher directs Peter Chiarelli's script like a manufacturer of hard plastic that is guaranteed to ward off intrusion from all recognizable human emotion."[29]New York Times writerManohla Dargis felt that Bullock's character was awkward in comparison to her previous work. She continued: "She's always been better in fundamentally independent roles that allow her to grab the wheel [...] and take the spotlight [...], an independence that persists all the way through the last-act coupling. She can smile as brightly at a man as well as the next leading lady, though, like all genuinely big female stars, she's really more of a solo act."[30]The Telegraph's Tim Robey expressed disappointment towards the film, giving it a two out of five stars.[31]
It's saying a lot about this section [...] that its comic highlight is Bullock having her mobile phone stolen by a passing eagle, and proffering the family's puppy by way of exchange. In fairness, the leads get very naked before they strictly intend to, and the sound department notches up at least one big laugh with the wettest slap you've ever heard when they unexpectedly collide [...]. But the more recurrent noise towards the end was me groaning with disappointment, that a movie which had struck gold with its central matchmaking was succeeding so ruthlessly in taking the shine off. On the plus side, it's done great business, so we might get to see Bullock and Reynolds back in something soon.
The interaction between Bullock and Reynolds was well-received by critics. Lisa Schwarzbaum ofEntertainment Weekly opined that the chemistry between the two actors was "fresh and irresistible."[32] Zorianna Kit ofThe Huffington Post exclaimed that "what [kept] audiences of this lite-fare comedy in their seats is the undeniable on-screen chemistry between leads Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds." She continued: "The two are so adept at comedy and have so much fun with one another, viewers watchingThe Proposal won't be able to resist their charms, even when some of the plot veers into unnecessarily silliness."[33] Betsey Sharkley of theLos Angeles Times felt that their relationship was a "cheeky update ofThe Taming of the Shrew." She opined, "Bullock's deft physical comedy, one of her most endearing qualities, is given a full run. [...] Reynolds' ability to deliver a line, or a look, with withering, surgical precision is there at every turn."[34] Giving it one out of five stars,The Guardian writerPeter Bradshaw gave a negative reaction to the interaction between Bullock and Reynolds. Bradshaw stated: "Their initial sparky detestation isn't convincing, and neither is their later thawing and romance. In each scene, it looks as if they have never met before. And Margaret isn't permitted to be a convincing cow, because that would make her unsympathetic [...]. Andrew can't be a total wimp, because that would be unsexy, so the fundamental comic premises of the film are fudged."[35]
| List of awards and nominations | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Award | Category | Recipients | Result | ||
| 15th Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards[36] | Best Comedy Film | Nominated | |||
| 67th Golden Globe Awards[37] | Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical | Sandra Bullock | Nominated | ||
| 2010 Kids' Choice Awards | Blimp Award for Favorite Movie Actress (along withThe Blind Side) | Nominated | |||
| 2010 MTV Movie Awards[38] | Best Comedic Performance | Nominated | |||
| Ryan Reynolds | Nominated | ||||
| Best Kiss | Sandra Bullock & Ryan Reynolds | Nominated | |||
| Best WTF Moment | Betty White | Nominated | |||
| 36th People's Choice Awards[39] | Favorite Comedy Movie | Won | |||
| Favorite On-Screen Team | Sandra Bullock & Ryan Reynolds | Nominated | |||
| Favorite Movie | Nominated | ||||
| 14th Satellite Awards[40] | Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy | Sandra Bullock | Nominated | ||
| 2010 Teen Choice Awards[41][42] | Choice Movie Dance | Sandra Bullock & Betty White | Won | ||
| Choice Scene Stealer – Female | Betty White | Nominated | |||
| Choice Movie Chemistry | Sandra Bullock & Ryan Reynolds | Nominated | |||
| Choice Movie Liplock | Nominated | ||||
| Choice Movie – Romantic Comedy | Nominated | ||||
| Choice Movie Actress – Romantic Comedy | Sandra Bullock | Won | |||
| Choice Movie Actor – Romantic Comedy | Ryan Reynolds | Nominated | |||
| 2009 Teen Choice Awards[43] | Choice Summer Movie – Romance | Won | |||
| Choice Summer Movie Star – Female | Sandra Bullock | Nominated | |||
| Choice Summer Movie Star – Male | Ryan Reynolds | Nominated | |||
