The Proposal (2009)

Editor-in-chief Margaret (Sandra Bullock) is in danger of being deported to Canada, so she blackmails her victimized assistant, Andrew (Ryan Reynolds), into posing as her fiancé.   Unexpectedly, this means Margaret is whisked away to Andrew’s hometown of Sitka, Alaska for his grandmother’s (Betty White) 90th birthday.  Predictable, Margaret and Andrew are forced to pretend they are a couple, and, well, you can see where this is going.

The Proposal is slightly less predictable than most romantic comedies, but that’s not what brings it down.  There’s just too much silliness.  Rather than develop subplots involving Margaret’s and Andrew’s respective careers, the relationship between Andrew and an old flame (Malin Akerman), and the troubled past between Andrew and his father, other gags are overplayed.  Instead we get Grandma Annie invoking the spirits of nature with assistance from Margaret and an impromptu bachelorette party with Sitka’s only exotic dancer Ramone (Oscar Nunez).  The story did not live up to its potential.

2.5/5

The Brothers Solomon (2007)

This movie came out about the same time that I first encountered Arrested Development and immediately decided it was one of my all-time favorite television shows.  Will Arnett played one of the principal Bluths, GOB (pronounced “jobe”), bringing a maniacal bent to the bumbling wannabe-magician.  I saved The Brothers Solomon for a DVD viewing because I believed it would not be worth going to the theaters.  I was right, but I underestimated the quality.  Arnett and Will Forte (SNL) play two brothers who attempt to fulfill their comatose father’s final verbal request: to have a grandchild.  The only problem is that their father raised them by himself in the Arctic and as a result they are socially inept.  Thanks to Craigslist, however, they are able to hire a woman willing to bear a child. This film was much smarter and funnier than I anticipated.  The key is the script (written by Forte) and director Bob Odenkirk never treat the brothers like buffoons.  The characters are genuinely nice guys; they’re just awkward in social interactions, especially with women.  Unlike the Will Ferrell comedy Step Brothers, where the middle-aged misfits act like selfish, spoiled asses, this movie maintains a purpose and genuine charm.

3/5

27 Dresses (2007)

I am a loving husband and will sit down for any movie my wife wants to watch. Considering she doesn’t like most movies strong than a PG rating, this makes her Netflix queue rather small (I think it’s at seven movies right now).

27 Dresses was the most predictable film I have ever seen. It was the least-funny romantic comedy I have ever seen. I did not laugh once. I may have smirked.

The fact that Katherine Heigl is unattached in the film is a ridiculous plot point. The fact that James Marsden’s character is working his way up at a newspaper by covering nuptials is even more ridiculous. The idea that Malin Akerman’s character would be fired from a modeling job is most ridiculous. Getting fired from an acting job would have been more believable. And Ed Burns is just looking for paychecks at this point.

I understand how this film could appeal to certain sects of the female gender. That doesn’t make it right.

2/5