Movie review: Formula romance, well mixed in 'The Proposal'

On paper, "The Proposal" looks like just another romantic comedy out of the Hollywood pipeline.

It stars Sandra Bullock, who has made a career of quirky romantic leads ("While You Were Sleeping," "Two Weeks' Notice"). Her co-star is Ryan Reynolds, who earned membership in the Romantic Cliché Hall of Fame on the basis of "Definitely, Maybe" alone. It's directed by Anne Fletcher, a choreographer-turned-filmmaker whose last movie was the formulaic "27 Dresses." And the plot, involving an engagement prefaced on immigration fraud, is a familiar one -- especially if you saw Peter Weir's 1990 comedy "Green Card."

But thanks to witty dialogue and clever casting against type, "The Proposal" manages to turn the old formula

into something fairly fresh and fun.

Bullock takes the biggest risk by playing the wholly unlikable book editor Margaret Tate, a stiletto-heeled meanie who could teach Meryl Streep's character from "The Devil Wears Prada" a few tricks in browbeating employees. As in "Prada," it's the editor's assistant who takes the brunt of the boss's wrath -- here, that's Andrew Paxton (Reynolds), who even cancels a trip home for his grandma's 90th birthday when Margaret demands it.

When Margaret (who's Canadian) is told that her visa has expired, she comes up with a fast plan to stay in the United States: proposing marriage to Andrew. After equal measures of blackmail and bribery, Andrew agrees. But with a suspicious immigration official

(Denis O'Hare) planning to interview the couple about each other's personal lives, Margaret has to study her underling's family life -- so the trip home is back on, and Margaret and Andrew head to Sitka, Alaska, for the celebration for Grandma Annie (Betty White).

Some of the setups in rookie screenwriter Pete Chiarelli's script are sitcom-level silliness -- such as when Margaret loses her cell phone to an eagle, or a running gag about Sitka's only male exotic dancer (Oscar Nuñez,

from "The Office"). But Chiarelli's dialogue is sharp and particularly well-delivered by Reynolds, who's less devilishly sarcastic than usual. (Favorite line, when Andrew tells Margaret how to soften her image: "You'll have to stop snacking on children while they dream.")

Bullock and Reynolds play against type well, and their spicy chemistry is contagious. But while the leads are doing their thing, Betty White slips in and steals the movie. Her Grandma Annie is earthy and funny, without resorting to the cliché of the foul-mouthed senior citizen (a cliché White herself has portrayed, in "Lake Placid" and "Love N' Dancing," to name two).

"The Proposal" won't be mistaken for groundbreaking cinema. But as an alternative to the usual summer blockbuster fare, it will light a few sparks.

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