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by R.J. Carter Published: October 27, 2009
Bullock plays Margaret Tate, a ball-busting editor who is the bane of all the underlings who work for her. Reynolds is Andrew Paxton, her personal assistant and gopher, looking to move up in the company and become an editor himself. When Margaret is told that her care-less attitude toward immigration laws is going to result in her being deported back to her native Canada -- necessitating the loss of her job -- she quickly announces that she and Andrew are engaged, surprising even Andrew. Convincing the bosses was easy. Convincing the INS is another thing. The comedically overzealous agent assigned to them doesn't buy the bull, seeing right through their story but letting them have enough rope to hang themselves nonetheless. I guess it's easy to be the tough immigration agent when you're up against a Canadian. Almost immediately the power relationship between Margaret and Andrew is switched. She needs her job, so she needs to suck up to Andrew -- and Andrew wants to be an editor. Now, this is actually a believable reversal of fortunes. However, Margaret too easily falls into place, and Andrew too much enjoys his role as the man in the partnership without taking true comedic advantage of it for the plot. He's tough now, and she's reverted to simpering -- neither of which are true character traits they had shown before in their normal lives. As the faux couple head to Alaska to meet Andrew's parents (Craig T. Nelson, Mary Steenburgen), where the wedding is to take place, Margaret learns that not only is Andrew a closet alpha male, he's also of Kennedy-esque stock, as the Paxtons run seemingly everything from the hardware store to the state government. Andrew's competitiveness with his father for authority over his own life leads him to push the marriage issue even harder, planning to marry Margaret now to spite daddy. The saving grace of this film is Golden Girls alumnus, Betty White, who plays the family matriarch. She's a nature-worshipping free spirit who reads people flawlessly. Her charming nuttiness, alas, isn't enough to save this picture from its telegraphed happy ending, as after three days our hapless players are now well-and-truly in love with each other, enough to merit a real proposal: "Marry me... Because I'd like to date you." Ah, now there's romance! Bonus features for this DVD release include a digital copy of the film, a collection of deleted scenes, and an alternate ending that truly is a departure from how the feature film plays out events. There's also the obligatory compilation of outtakes, and a feature-accompanying audio commentary with director Anne Fletcher and writer Peter Chiarelli. Previews on this disc include "Old Dogs" and "Everybody's Fine." Additional selectable previews include Legend of the Seeker - The Complete First Season, "Cheri," and Lost - The Complete Fifth Season. |
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