The Proposal

Domineering publishing executive Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) is threatened with deportation to her native Canada, so to keep her US visa status she persuades her hen-pecked young assistant Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds) to marry her. He grudgingly accepts his loathed bully bosses demands - on the condition he is promoted to editor.

Of course, immigration launch an investigation, so the pair decide to spend a weekend in Alaska with his quirky family to convince the authorities they are a real couple. But, predictably, as they spend time together they start to fall in love - so when it comes to the sham wedding, can they go through with it when it is based on a lie?

Directed by Anne Fletcher - who helmed the likeable 27 Dresses and Step Up - The Proposal follows a standard rom-com formula and there won’t be anything you haven’t seen a hundred times before.

Bullock’s domineering city girl finds herself in a string of fish-out-of-water scenarios — just like Renee Zellweger in New In Town or Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. Watching her squirm as cheesy, oiled-up stripper Ramone writhes over her at a surprise hen do is one of the movie’s funniest scenes.

The Latino lothario - played by Oscar Nunez - provides a lot of the movie’s laughs, as does Golden Girls legend Betty White as Reynolds’ brash granny. She steals every scene she is in and leaves her younger co-stars cowering in her shadow. From her cheeky “baby maker” blanket to her tribal prayers to Mother Earth in the forest, White is the shining light.

Sadly, the romance between Bullock and Reynolds isn’t convincing - they go from loathe to love too quickly with nothing more than one quick heart-to-heart and a few looks. The chemistry between the pair isn’t exactly sizzling either.

Reynolds delivers the usual sharp one-liners he is getting a name for and doesn't disappoint the girls when he strips off to reveal a tight torso - that shot alone makes the movie worth seeing.

The Proposal won’t win any Oscars but it is ideal for a date or a girl’s night out.