The Proposal

2001 "Their Mistake Was Trusting Her."
5.3| 1h31m| R| en
Details

An undercover cop lets his job get personal while on an underground assignment.

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Reviews

Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.
Interesteg What makes it different from others?
FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.
KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.
DougInNC Nick Moran does well in this role, a consistent and believable element in a movie with a few twists and turns. You can relax with this movie for an evening, but if you're paying for this as a rental then you might do better to see Nick Moran in "Silent Partner." An episode of Miami Vice probably has a better way of mixing the good guys, bad guys, local police, and feds or FBI. The characters in this film make good sense and you could expect to find people like them, but character development is not very strong except for that of Nick Moran's character, Terry Martin. Jennifer Esposito as Susan Reece enters the stage with a dash of freshness, shows signs of that character trait at times, but doesn't really have a believable role. Don't blame the actress - the writers and director could have done better with her skill and the role. Not a bad movie, but not gripping, either.
Miguel Cruz All of the warning signs are there from frame one: an opening sequence that intercuts between shots of the movie and the credits on a black screen, mobsters fresh out of movie mobster school, and unnecessary cross dissolves from one scene to the next. And then of course there are the fellow police officers who yell at one another most of the time, whether it be the captain admonishing the hero for taking too much time on the case or the hero and his new partner who don't see eye to eye. I figured at the very least if I stuck around, I would be treated to some gratuitous nudity courtesy of the beautiful Jennifer Esposito. Unfortunately that didn't happen, yet I found myself being absorbed by the developing relationship between her character and the undercover cop played by Nick Moran. There are some nice moments that elevate the film above its direct-to-video trappings. A scene where Esposito places a banana to her ear as if it were a phone has such a genuineness and spontaneity that it doesn't come off as a cheap attempt at humor but as an actual moment involving real people. The two leads deserve a lot of credit for making this movie what it is. Nick Moran has a certain star quality, a charisma that holds the viewer with him. He gives everything he has in this performance, particularly midway through the film when his psyche is tortured after having been forced to assassinate an enemy of the mobster he's trying to bring down. It's almost as if he didn't get the memo letting him know that this was direct-to-video garbage and that he really need not try so hard. Fortunately for the film and the viewer he does.
George Parker "The Proposal" tells of an undercover cop (Moran), somewhere in some city investigating some bad guys who are doing something...um, something bad no doubt because they laugh at bad things and look bad...that' s how we know they're bad. Said cop needs a "wife" as an excuse to keep underworld meetings short. Enter Esposito...a cop with a desk job who goes undercover, but not under the covers, as the wife. Bottom line (drum roll, please) the good guys win. Yea! A typical lackluster, no-brainer B-movie cop flick with some Maxwell Smart techno-gun thingy thrown in, and an obvious lack of the "juice" required for car crashes/chases, stunts, explosions, sex/nudity..oh yeah...and REHEARSALS. With a very tame R-rating for a couple of shootouts, "The Proposal" ignors the Hollywood maxim "When in doubt, titillate", fails to deliver anything substantial, and doesn't work well on any level except late night t.v. when the viewer is too tired to care. (D+)Note - The only place you'll see Esposito's thigh is on the box. And what the hell did they go to Scotland for?? Bad weather in Vancouver? One more piece of advice. When in a shootout, don't hide behind cardboard cartons. Duh.
bworas "The Proposal" turned out to be a very pleasant surprise not simply for what it was, but what it wasn't. Amazingly, there are no cliches in this relatively low budget suspence/drama work. Most notable is the camerawork, with not a single pedestrian sequence of shots. Subtly original, these camera angles serve to nicely parallel the storyline which is unpredictable in both its direction and its mood. The audience, as a result, must give its full attention throughout this film or risk losing its bearings. Those who watch this film closely will be rewarded not only with a stimulating storyline, but the opportunity to experience some superbly interesting and well developed charactors as well. For those who appreciate the nuances of filmmaking, this is a must see.