The Proposal

"Actually I picked up on all her little hints. This woman is about as subtle as a gun."

Margaret Tate (Bullock) is a powerful woman. As the main book editor and boss at a publishing company, instills fear in her co-workers and fires her biggest competition. However, she is Canadian and is being deported: which also means she loses her job (for at least 1 year). To keep her job, she forces her assistant Andrew Paxton (Reynolds) to marry her. He agrees, with some stipulations (i.e. promotion).

To keep up the charade they travel to Alaska to visit his parents (Steenburgen & Nelson), celebrate his Grandma Annie's (White) birthday, and tell them the "good news." The family lives in a small town in the middle of nowhere, and the only way to get to their home is by boat. For the weekend they have to prove to the entire town they are engaged at various events: a homecoming party, the impromptu bachelorette party, etc, and share a room at his parent's home (without killing each other).


I saw this film with my mom and we had a blast! Yes, it is a tad formulaic (the outcome isn't a surprise, the ending yes, the outcome no), but it is still fun and worth the price of admission ($8.00 + popcorn). While similar films (they hate each other at first, but that turns into something more) have been made, this one works because of the cast. Sandra Bullock starts out mean, but you grow to like her as the film continues. And Ryan Reynolds and the female members of his family are immediately likeable. Betty White steals the show as Andrew's grandmother, and has the funniest lines. They are willing to do physical comedy, without going too overboard. Speaking of physical comedy, Oscar Nunez (Oscar from "The Office") is hysterical in this film... I won't go into too much detail because some aspects were a surprise and that made it even more enjoyable. Surprisingly good for a chick flick!

The Proposal (2009) 108 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for sexual content, nudity and language.
Director: Anne Fletcher
Starring: Sandra Bullock as Margaret Tate
Ryan Reynolds as Andrew Paxton
Mary Steenburgen as Grace Paxton
Craig T. Nelson as Joe Paxton
Betty White as Grandma Annie
Denis O'Hare as Mr. Gilbertson
Malin Akerman as Gertrude
Oscar Nunez as Ramone

Shrek

"NOT MY BUTTONS. Not my gum-drop buttons."

All Shrek (Myers), the ogre, wants is to be left alone. His seclusion ends when he saves a talking Donkey (Murphy) from being arrested.... then his swamp is overrun with fairytale characters. They were evicted from their homes and forced to move to the swamp. To get rid of them, Shrek and Donkey go to see Lord Farquaad (Lithgow) to sort out the problem. Farquaad relocated the fairytale characters to make his kingdom perfect, but to officially be the king he needs to get married. His bride to be, Princess Fiona (Diaz) is a prisoner in a tall tower, surrounded by lava, and guarded by a dragon.
Farquaad and Shrek come to an agreement: Shrek will rescue the princess and he will get his land back. But Fiona isn't what they expected: she is capable of defending herself (matrix style) and belches liberally. And Donkey wards of the unwanted advances of a much stronger woman.

This film was so different from everything else when it was first made. Disney had been putting references in films made during the last few (10ish) years, but this was the first time a film really went after Disney (and did so successfully). Disney held the monopoly on entertaining cartoon films for children... affecting how children viewed their world (what little girl doesn't expect her life to be like the Disney princesses and their happily ever after?). Shrek works because they take that idea, and the characters we all grew up watching, and changing little things. With an unconventional hero (an ogre), an unconventional princess, a talking donkey, and fairy tale creatures as castoffs there were so many ways this film could fail, but the combined voice talents, excellent writing, a lot of heart make this film work.
Lightning struck twice for Shrek, with a sequel that was just as good as the original, but the third was a disappointment. With another Shrek film on the way, I can't helpk but hope that they will return to the formula that made this film work... instead of going for the cheap, disgusting humor and pop culture references, take us back to the world weary ogre and his annoyingly endearing sidekick trying to find their way.

Shrek (2001) 90 minutes
Rating: PG for mild language and some crude humor.
Director: Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson
Starring: Mike Myers as Shrek
Eddie Murphy as Donkey
Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona
John Lithgow as Lord Farquaad

It was weird to watch this film again. I LOVE the Broadway musical version ("Shrek the Musical").

Brian D'Arcy James and the fairy tale characters

An awesome cast (Sutton Foster, Christopher Sieber, John Tartaglia, among others I didn't previously know) and a healthy homage to many other Broadway shows (you need to know your musicals to get most of them). I fell in love with the songs through YouTube (even after I decided it was going to be stupid), and even bought the cast recording when it came out. It might not be "high concept" but it is incredible. I'm used to the show, and the songs used, so it was strange to watch the film without these songs or the enlarged parts of the fairytale creatures.

Guys and Dolls (200th post)

Happy 200th Post
*My 100th post was a musical, so in keeping with that tradition... I chose another musical

"All right. We'll lay it on the line. From now on we'll deal the hand open."
"Could you say that in English?"

All the high stakes gamblers are in town to play in the legendary floating craps game run by Nathan Detroit (Sinatra). However, Lt. Brannigan (Keith), is making it extremely difficult to find a location for the game. The only plausible location, a garage, requires $1,000 deposit, which Nathan and his cohorts: Nicely Nicely (Kaye) and Benny (Silver), don't have money. In an act of desperation, Nathan makes a bet with his high stakes friend Sky Masterson (Brando). The bet: Sky has to take Sarah Brown (Simmons), the leader of the local "Save a Soul" mission, to Havana. Nathan sees a bet he can't lose, and Sky sees a challenge that he won't lose... Sarah's mission is not doing well, and is in danger being closed down. He offers a room full of sinners in return for a date.

Meanwhile, Nathan's fiance Adelaide (Blaine) has developed a case of psychology (i.e. a cold) because she has been engaged for the last 14 years without anything happening. She believes he has given up his life of gambling for her, even as he sets up the next game. Who will win the bet, and what will happen the "dolls"?


I fell in love with "Guys and Dolls" when I saw it at a local theatre...I bought this film without seeing it because 1) I love the show and 2) it has Frank Sinatra so it has to be good, right? Nope! I'm not impressed. Not only did they cut the adorable "Bushel and Peck" and replace it with the dumb/annoying "Pet Me Poppa," but they cast 2 big stars with no singing experience (prior to the film) in place of stars who actually sing and dance for a living. Sigh.

With that in mind, some scenes and songs work ("Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat" is always a show stopper), while other sequences (like the Havana dance number) drag on. Some of the original Broadway cast reprise their roles and shine in their numbers: Stubby Kaye as Nicely Nicely and Vivian Blaine as Adelaide. Sinatra also delivers, giving Nathan a believable depth. Brando and Simmons bring an incredible performance, but their musical numbers aren't quite on par. I prefer to see this show on stage...and perhaps the problem is that it was adapted to film.

I love listening to the orignal Broadway cast (featuring Stubby Kaye and Vivian Blaine), and I own the 1992 Broadway revival recording (Nathan Lane as Nathan) and wanted to see the 2009 revival but apparently it is no longer on Broadway (boo).

Guys and Dolls (1955) minutes
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Starring: Marlon Brando as Sky Masterson
Jean Simmons as Sergeant Sarah Brown
Frank Sinatra as Nathan Detroit
Vivian Blaine as Miss Adelaide
Robert Keith as Lt. Brannigan
Stubby Kaye as Nicely-Nicely Johnson
B.S. Pully as Big Jule
Johnny Silver as Benny Southstreet