.: Roberts' Reviews - Movie Reviews :.

Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) is a bitch. As Chief Editor for a publishing firm in New York City, she is a cross between Katherine Parker (Working Girl) and Miranda Priestly (The Devil Wears Prada). Employees loathe her. They send messages to each other informing them of her whereabouts ('The witch is on her broom') and they tiptoe by her office like a burglar would do behind a security guard.

Fresh off firing someone for not showing the cut throat drive she herself emulates, Margaret gets called into the boss's office to find out that her Canadian visa has expired and that she will lose her job and be deported for a year thanks to some incomplete paperwork.

Enter Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds). Andrew is Margaret's young Executive Assistant that puts up with her antics and quirks with the hopes of someday being promoted to editor.

In one of those moments that can only happen in rom-com movies, Margaret quickly concocts a fabrication that she and Andrew are engaged to be married which would then resolve her troublesome immigration issues.

With 90 minutes still to come, director Anne Fletcher (27 Dresses) introduces an immigration officer that gives the couple one weekend to prove to him that they are indeed not defrauding the American immigration system. The two non-lovebirds then travel to Alaska to meet Andrew's family and to learn as much as they can about each other's lives in a 48-hour period.

The Proposal is not rocket science. It is PG fun that will not offend many while providing enough laughs to keep a packed house chuckling in unison for 107 minutes. But what separates The Proposal from most other failed rom-com's (paging you Mr. Matthew McConaughey) are the strong performances by the two leads - Bullock and Reynolds. The two friends in real life, have credible chemistry together which makes the inevitable falling in love story that much more plausible.

The supporting cast is equally up to the task. Betty White as Grandma Annie and The Office's Oscar Nunez's Romone steal most of the scenes to which they are in while Craig T. Nelson (resembling the late David Carradine) and Mary Steenburgen as Andrew's parents do just enough to keep a few scenes going without trying to attract more attention than necessary.

There is nothing truly original about The Proposal. It has parts I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry and Meet the Parents written all over the easily digestible script. But the pacing is just right and with the exception of a scene that included a small dog, an eagle and bad special effects, the movie doesn't lag or spin its wheels for too long. Even a predicable scene where Margaret gets swept off a speed boat doesn't play like slapstick, but instead just good innocent fun.

Don't expect The Proposal to run away with any Academy Awards, but when it comes to the fluff that is the romantic/comedy genre, the film exceeds expectations and was a welcome diversion from all the explosions, robots and superheroes that are thrust down our throats every release Friday.