Proposal, The MPAA Rating: PG-13 Entertainment: +3 1/2 Content: -2

Main actors: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Mary Steenburgen, Betty White, Craig T. Nelson. Director: Anne Fletcher

FILM SYNOPSIS: Imagine your boss, a powerful executive, demands that you marry her/him. That’s what happens to ambitious Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds), executive assistant to Margaret Paxton (Sandra Bullock), the chief editor of a large publishing firm in New York City. When Margaret walks through the office, the staff shudders and tries to avoid attracting her attention. Andrew, however, has to spend long hours by her side. and marrying her would be his worst nightmare. Margaret, a Canadian, learns that her visa has expired. Marrying a U.S. citizen seems to be her only option for keeping her job, so of course Andrew is ordered to save his boss. Suddenly she is at Andrew’s mercy, and he demands that they visit his family in Sitka, Alaska.

Andrew’s betting that deportation may not look so bad after a weekend with the Paxtons in Alaska. Will the warmth of a welcoming community melt Margaret’s ice cold heart? Wearing a tailored black suit and stiletto heels, Margaret’s arrival in Sitka is awkward. When greeted with open arms, she quickly extends her hand for a handshake. Brrrr!

The Proposal is sure to be a big summer hit. This hilarious romantic comedy about a couple pretending to be in love is fun to watch. Andrew’s parents (Mary Steenburgen and Craig T. Nelson) insist the happy couple get married that weekend, and the frenzied plans begin. The bizarre antics of 90-year-old Grandma Annie (Betty White) chanting New Age mumbo jumbo and off-color remarks and behavior are sometimes overdone.

PREVIEW REVIEW:The publicity trailers focus on the two leads in a nude scene. But there is nothing sexual about the cleverly photographed scene so that neither actor is fully exposed. The most suggestive scene takes place in a strip joint where a male stripper performs a lewd dance in bikini briefs. The entertainer later appears as a minister at a wedding ceremony, making a mockery of a very sacred event. Grandma worships Mother Earth, dancing and chanting praises. Although Andrew and Margaret share a bedroom, they do not share the bed, not for moral reasons but because there is no physical attraction between them. A few obscenities and profanities along with some sexually suggestive remarks contribute to the PG-13 rating.

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Preview Reviewer: Mary Draughon
Distributor: Buena Vista