The Proposal is a lot better than I had expected after seeing the trailer for it. The short preview made it look like a silly film with a lame plot and stale humor. The heroine (Sandra Bullock) starts out a bitch. She is the chief editor of a distinguished book publisher in New York City. Showing how far women have come, she successfully harasses our hero (Ryan Reynolds). In an effort to avoid deportation from the U.S. because of a visa violation, she forces him to agree to marry her. Our hero goes along with her proposal not simply because he is weak but because he able to get something in return: The heroine agrees in return to promote our hero from her mere assistant to an independent editor at her publishing house. If you are up do date on immigration law enforcement, you will know that the IRS does not like it when you marry someone just to help them stay in the country.

For this reason our hero and heroine need to fake real love. Unfortunately, the first people to convince of this charade are the folks back home in Sitka, Alaska. He has not seen them in three years and now without forewarning his shows up with his fiance.  The plot sounds old but it is filmed in a beautiful setting. If you like romantic comedies, you will enjoy this film.