Tagline: Here comes the bribe.
The Proposal movie storyline. When high-powered New York book editor Margaret (Sandra Bullock) faces deportation to her native country-Canada, the quick-thinking exec declares that she’s actually engaged to her unsuspecting put-upon assistant Andrew (Ryan Reynolds), whom she’s tormented for years. He agrees to participate in the charade, but with a few conditions of his own.
The unlikely couple heads to Alaska to meet his quirky family (Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson, Betty White) and the always-in-control city girl finds herself in one comedic fish-out-of-water situation after another. With an impromptu wedding in the works and an immigration official on their tails, Margaret and Andrew reluctantly vow to stick to the plan despite the precarious consequences.
The Proposal is a 2009 American romantic comedy film directed by Anne Fletcher and written by Peter Chiarelli. The film stars Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds with Betty White, Mary Steenburgen and Craig T. Nelson. The plot centers on a Canadian executive who learns that she may face deportation from the U.S. because of her expired visa. Determined to retain her position as editor in chief of a publishing house, she convinces her assistant to temporarily act as her fiancé.
Development on the film began in 2005, when Chiarelli wrote the film’s script. Principal filming occurred over a period of two months from March to May 2008. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who criticized its script but praised the chemistry between Bullock and Reynolds. It was a box office success, grossing over $317 million worldwide and becoming the 20th highest-grossing film of 2009.
It’s All About the Comedy
There was one element above all others that attracted director Anne Fletcher to “The Proposal”-the comedy. “I love comedy so much and it’s always been in my fiber,” says Fletcher. “I was in improv and sketch comedy troops. Comedy makes me the happiest. After directing `Step Up,’ my goal was to do a comedy. But you can’t just jump into it. You have to prove yourself a little bit.”
Fletcher proved herself with 2008’s romantic comedy “27 Dresses.” “I got to exercise my comedy a bit. And then this came along, `The Proposal,’ and it had so much comedy in it,” says the director. “Sandra Bullock is a female comic genius. There really isn’t anybody on her level. I’ve been completely and utterly spoiled by her professionalism, her talent, her mind, her sense of humor, her sense of being. And Ryan Reynolds is one of a kind-Jack Lemmon and Chevy Chase combined.”
Producer Todd Lieberman was drawn to the film’s premise. “What I really responded to was the concept of an older woman, younger man relationship. The dynamic between the two characters is really funny,” says Lieberman. “There’s a guy assistant who’s been dreaming of being in publishing his whole life. He moves to New York and starts working for this hideous boss.”
Margaret Tate, a.k.a. the `hideous boss,’ intrigued Fletcher. “Margaret starts off being a hard-nosed business woman who only focuses on work and wants to get to the top, and that’s really the only goal that she has in life,” says the director. “When you really dig deep into this person, you realize that she’s got a lot of flaws. Margaret starts out really hard, but during the course of the film, she becomes herself again.”
Writer Peter Chiarelli sees Margaret as a very competent executive. “But as a woman she’s had to keep up this front of control all of the time, so that she’s never seen as weak,” says Chiarelli. “It gets to her. She’s sacrificed a lot to be this successful. The closest relationship she has in her life is with her assistant.
“I came up with the idea for the film from working in Hollywood with these very successful executives and their assistants,” continues Chiarelli: “They shared a kind of intimate relationship-though the bosses knew absolutely nothing about their assistants. My priority was to always go for the comedy.”
So, says Chiarelli, he based the story around what would happen if one of those bosses had to actually get real. Margaret Tate is that boss. “Margaret was written the way they usually write the male roles, which are usually the juiciest,” says Sandra Bullock, who plays Margaret. “They’re allowed to be complex, unattractive, crabby, difficult, fun and funny, which is not how female characters are usually written.”
But Reynolds, who plays Andrew the assistant, says he enjoyed the idea of the oppressor being taken out of her comfort zone. “This woman, who is so Type A, is being taken to the wilds of Alaska with her assistant. She has spent three years with this guy but knows absolutely nothing about him, including where he’s from. It’s really fun when she comes to this small community and becomes as much a fish out of water as a human being can be.”
“You soon find out that the person you think is dominant really isn’t- Andrew is the one in control,” says Bullock. “It even surprises Margaret. She’s relied on him so heavily over the past years that without him, she can’t do her job- that’s why she doesn’t want to let him progress in his career. The man that’s capable of taming the shrew does not have to carry the big stick or speak loudly. He’s the one who knows exactly why she’s the way she is.”
“I see Andrew as a really noble guy,” says Chiarelli. “He could have taken the easy way out and stayed in Alaska and done what was expected of him and work in the family business, but instead he’s chosen to make his own way. He’s not asking for favors from anybody; in fact, he’s taking the toughest job because he knows it’s going to get him the best experience.
“At the beginning of the movie, Margaret doesn’t know any of this about him,” continues Chiarelli. “So for her, there’s a lot of discovery. She comes to realize that this is somebody who’s made the tough decision to pull himself up by the bootstraps, which is similar to the way that Margaret went about her career.”
“The film reminds me of the really well-constructed comedies that happened to be about a relationship failing, working and failing again-and they don’t write `em like this anymore,” says Bullock, “From the way Anne Fletcher sets up the scene, Oliver Stapleton lights it and the landscape is used in the comedy, you realize that we’re not making a light, superficial romantic comedy. I think screwball-rather than romantic-comedy is a better way to describe this film.”
Fletcher’s direction and Chiarelli’s script find a deft balance between the film’s sophisticated and physical comedy. “Everybody on this film plays the comedy straight,” says White. “They don’t pounce, `Hey, this is a funny line, did you get it?’ They just say it like it’s real and that’s what makes it funny.”
“It’s like `I Love Lucy,’” adds Akerman. “The actors are not trying to be funny, but it is really funny, witty and sharp.”
The filmmakers were inspired by some of the ageless comedies of the past. “It’s a movie that just clips along, which is what those great ’40s, ’50s comedies with Cary Grant and Jack Lemmon did,” says producer Hoberman. “While dialogue-heavy, they moved really fast. One of the things we wanted to do was have Sandy and Ryan finish each other’s sentences. It’s a love-hate relationship that keeps you going along for the ride.”
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The Proposal (2009)
Directed by: Anne Fletcher
Starring by: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Malin Akerman, Craig T. Nelson, Mary Steenburgen, Betty White, Aasif Mandvi, Michael Nouri, Kortney Adams, Alicia Hunt, Alexis Garcia, Denis O’Hare
Screenplay by: Peter Chiarelli
Production Design by: Nelson Coates
Cinematography by: Oliver Stapleton
Film Editing by: Priscilla Nedd-Friendly
Costume Design by: Catherine Marie Thomas
Set Decoration by: Denise Pizzini
Art Direction by: Scott Meehan
Music by: Aaron Zigman
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sexual content, nudity and language.
Distributed by: Touchstone Pictures
Release Date: June 19, 2009
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