The Proposal

The Rom Com Rewrite

In a mini-episode, Lisa reads a brief piece on why The Proposal is one of the unfunniest, cruelest rom coms out there -- not the mild romp it’s meant to be.

Year: 2009

Writer: Peter Chiarelli

Director: Anne Fletcher

Stars: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Betty White, Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson

Show notes:

In this episode, Lisa reads a short essay she wrote back in 2010 about how this movie is heavy-handed where it should be lighthearted, mean-spirited where it should be heartwarming, and dull where it should be lively. Not to mention, it does not understand book publishing at all, and as someone who has worked in book publishing, Lisa took this personally.

Lisa references It Happened One Night (1934) (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025316/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) and Bringing Up Baby (1938) (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029947/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0).

Our theme music is by Martin Zaltz Austwick (http://martinzaltzaustwick.com), and this episode was edited by Nakul Pande (http://nakulpande.com).

Thank you for listening!