The Proposal is perfect formula for romantic comedy disaster

I’ve heard it said that the 18-35 year old male is the key demographic for summer movies. I’ll admit I happen to fall under that same age-group expected to shell out their much coveted cash in order to get lost in two hours of on-screen explosions and high-flying car crashes. I would like to think that my disdain for the latest romantic comedy The Proposal however has much more to do with my love for cinema than what the statistics say I should be drawn to. Having said that, you must know that, yes I am a male, I am married, and as a matter of fact I have enjoyed some romantic comedies in the past. I tried, oh how I tried to like The Proposal. There comes a point though, when as the saying goes, familiarity does breed something much closer to contempt than a good time at the movies.

The basics of the plot are as follows. Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) plays a high profile book editor for an influential New-York based publishing company. She has rightfully earned her secret nickname around the office “the witch”, firing employees as if it were a bodily function. Ms. Tate also happens to be a Canadian whose work visa has been recently denied. This poses a problem for Margaret because unless she thinks of a quick plan she will be deported. Enter Margaret’s unsuspecting office assistant Andrew (Ryan Reynolds) whom Margaret unwittingly blackmails into becoming her fiancé in order to retain her citizenship. The whole scheme takes a romantic-comedy turn for the worse when the couple visits Andrew’s family in Alaska for a weekend birthday celebration of Andrew’s 90 year-old grandmother (Betty White).

Really the first 20 minutes of this film are just a quick way to get to the scenes on the island in which the age-old romantic comedy themes are inserted into the plot one by one. Believe me this film has them all. It’s not that there’s a lot wrong with this movie, it’s just that there’s not a lot it does right either. Reynolds and Bullock display great on-screen chemistry together that is wasted with several pro-longed scenes some of which can only best be described as “geriatric” slapstick. (I’m talking to you Betty White). There’s also that curious scene with the little dog that no one is supposed to let outside because “the eagles might snatch him up” . I bet you can already guess fido’s fate, and which out-of-towner is the first to let him outside. Scenes like these are unfortunate even though some of them were amusing and seem to be the film’s biggest problem. It relies so heavily on formula, that the characters and their performances are drowned out about half way through. By that time I didn’t much les care whether or not Andrew caught Margaret at the airport (yes add the airport chase to the list of clichés this movie holds) because I honestly wasn’t that invested.

There is a demographic out there for The Proposal even if Hollywood says I’m not it. So if you’re dying for some formulaic light-heartedness with your date, rush to the theater to see this one. As for me, my quest for another good romantic comedy continues. My wife tells me I should try How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days tonight. It’s going to be a long day.

2.5/5

It’s quite possible you might be taken by Pelham 123

The Taking of Pelham 123 is an action-crime movie about a crazed lunatic who hi-jacks a subway train in order to make a financial gain from an economic downturn. To believe that people go to great lengths during desperate times is not hard to ask. It is the means by which the villain in this film barters with a down-trodden New York economy that stretches the imagination.
John Travolta stars as the mastermind responsible for taking over a New York city subway car one afternoon in order to hold the passengers aboard hostage for a hefty ransom. The film never quite answers whether his axe to grind is a political or personal one, though the plot hints at both. I’m not sure that it matters anyways because director Tony Scott is putting his money on the fact that audiences won’t be asking such questions, or much less care by the time the first hostage is threatened to be offed.

The film co-stars Denzel Washington who plays Walter Garber, an ordinary city subway dispatcher whose day is thrown into disarray by a man calling himself Ryder (Travolta). Ryder’s demands are simple enough for a plot such as this: Get the mayor to deliver him $ 10,000,000 in one hour or hostages will be killed for every minute past. Garber must use his vast knowledge of the underground subway system to devise a plan to negotiate with the lunatic and remove the hostages safely.

The film tries to be much more of a visceral experience then a mental one. With frenetic directing, fast-paced cutting, and a pulsating soundtrack, Tony Scott’s trick is to get you to sweat without paying too much attention to the plot. For the most part, the trick works. The tension is indeed raised but unfortunately not nearly as much by performances, which is what a movie like this needs. Travolta seems to be behaving more like a bad-guy than rooting his performance in real character. The script demands him to swear so he does it. He is asked to wave his gun in the face of helpless pedestrians, so he complies.

The film works better on the city-side of the story. John Turturro gives a fine supporting performance as chief negotiator for the NYPD. Denzel Washington’s character although somewhat familiar by now, is genuinely intriguing. He seems to be the classic wrong man, caught in a situation that he has little or no control over.
The best indicator of how much I enjoyed this movie is probably the fact that at times my hands were gripping the chair. Yes those minutes were few and far between, and yes the action is mostly preposterous, but Pelham 123 has its moments.

3/5

Oh the places we'll go..in Disney's UP

Disney Pixar’s Up is a fairly wonderful film with relatable characters, a life affirming story-line, and a dazzling palette of colorful visuals. In short, Pixar has done it again. Let me go on the record and say, Pixar animation studios is hands-down the best production company in the film industry. I’m not talking merely about animated movies, I’m talking about all of film. Period. If you need any proof of this (if you actually do, then I guess you really haven’t been to the movies in about 10 years), then look no further than this year’s Cannes film festival. Last week Pixar’s Up opened the festival, marking the first time in Cannes history that an animated feature hallmarked the event. Now just imagine a bunch of European art snobs and critics staring at a brightly animated silver screen, 3D glasses donned and all. Need I offer another argument to prove that Pixar blends art and candy like it’s as natural as Mel Gibson films and bloodlust?

Taking their cue’s from the silent era greatness of Charlie Chaplin, their creative teams manage to say an infinite amount by stringing together not series of jokey dialouge, but frame after frame of pictures. Seriously, I wish story-tellers would take notice at these guys’ craft because they’ve got it down. Remember last year in the triumphant WALL*E when we received the entire back-story of planet Earth’s demise in one sweep of the camera? That’s the kind of “nothing-more-nothing-less” approach to story-telling Pixar boasts. Up is no exception to the brilliant understanding of narrative that this creative team possesses. If only live-action films could be as poetic, heart-warming, and yes, as true as these films, then every movie-going experience would be an adventure.

Up focuses on the life of Carl Fredrickson (Ed Asner), who is grieving the death of his bride Ellie. We learn that Carl and Ellie were life-long companions who as children found friendship through their common desire for adventure. The two aspired their whole lives to up and leave for an exotic South American location where their adventurous hearts could roam freely. Pinching and saving every penny, the two set out to one day retire far away from the ebb and flow of life. Of course life, as it often does, got in the way of their plans and the two found themselves nursing broken bones, blown tires, and medical bills to pay their way out of their vacation fund. All of this back-story is set up seamlessly within the first few minutes of the film. Since Ellie’s death, Carl has had trouble letting go. His house has become a monument to her, standing in the same place for years, even as the incessant string of retail stores pop up around it.

When Carl meets a chubby, well-intentioned young boy scout named Russell one day, both of their lives begin to change. Russell endearingly approaches Carl’s front door in hopes that the gruff little man will help Russell earn his last of a long line of coveted boy scout badges. “Is there anything I can help you cross?” Russell asks. Although Carl is defiant with the boy at first, we get the idea that Russell will most likely help Carl cross some chasm in his life even though it may not be across the street or across his yard.

When Carl hatches a plan to skip town and head for South America, the boy is accidentally brought along with him. Carl, who spent years as a balloon salesman, attaches several thousand balloons to his house in order to float away from all that reminds him of failure and heartbreak in his own neighborhood. When the duo reaches their destination these very adult targeted themes are carried along in the plot with the help of robotically talking dogs, an exotic bird named Kevin, and a house of balloons that keeps going and going.

If the film has any shortcomings, it’s that the story eventually falls on familiar Pixar formulas of the past. But oh how that formula shines. The film is visually extraordinary, accentuating the tiniest of details within its landscapes. What makes Up so endearing though is the remarkable humanness of its characters. Quite an impossible feat when considering they are cascading over the horizon in a makeshift hot-air balloon house, with a talking dog. Pixar has not merely ruled the market in Animated films, they have redefined the terms of the market itself, continuing to make us laugh and cry over and over again.

Up may not be in the top tier of Pixar films. I’m sure that will be debated for months to come. In the end I don’t think it matters though either. They don’t have to outdo themselves with each subsequent picture. What Up does instead is add to an ever-expanding canon of classic films, not merely cartoons.

4/5