'Proposal' marries likable stars with steady laughs

THE PROPOSAL — ★★★ — Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Betty White; rated PG-13 (vulgarity, profanity, brief sex, brief partial nudity, slurs, violence); in general release

It's a nice luxury for "The Proposal" to have Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds as its stars. We already like these two actors — at least, in most of their roles and their movies.

With that in mind, all this predictable, romantic/screwball comedy really has to do is supply us with a steady supply of laughs. And in that regard, the film succeeds.

While this particular movie is not going to change the face of filmmaking, and it might not rank up there with the classic screwball comedies, it's certainly more fun than earlier, like-minded clunkers such as "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" and "My Life in Ruins."

Bullock stars as Margaret Tate, a senior editor for a New York publishing firm. Margaret's employees live in fear of her. That includes her personal assistant, Andrew Paxton (Reynolds).

The hard-working Andrew is hoping to get a promotion to editor, eventually. However, that might come sooner than he expects.

His Canadian-born boss is about to be deported. The only solution she can think of is to marry Andrew and get her green card.

Surprisingly, he agrees to the rather hair-brained scheme — but only if she'll give him that promotion.

There are a couple of other complications as well. An immigration officer (Denis O'Hare) is onto their ruse. Also, Andrew is supposed to be visiting his family in Alaska.

Director Anne Fletcher and first-time screenwriter Pete Chiarelli get more mileage out of this familiar material than you'd think.

And again, there are some genuine laughs. Reynolds can deliver a quick one-liner with the best of them, and Bullock seems to relish doing slapstick.

A silly bit involving a dog, an eagle and a cell phone is much funnier than it probably should be, thanks to her efforts.

Filmmaker Fletcher ("27 Dresses") also makes good use of the still-spry Betty White, who plays Andrew's goofy grandmother. Craig T. Nelson and Mary Steenburgen are welcome presences as well, playing his squabbling parents.

"The Proposal" is rated PG-13 and features some suggestive humor and references (slang and other sexual talk), scattered strong profanity, some brief sexual contact (accidental groping), brief partial nudity (concealed nudity, as well as some nude artwork), derogatory language and slurs (some based on nationality), and mostly comic violence (slapstick, including pratfalls, and a brief animal attack). Running time: 108 minutes.

E-mail: jeff@desnews.com