Read the full review after the jump!
The plot device calls for all would-be suitors to follow Beth back to NYC, where she's a curator at the Guggenheim (under Anjelica Houston's reign of terror) and wreck havoc amongst her loveless life. Of course, her whole career is riding on the next exhibit... While slapstick ensue, the laughs do not--not even from funnyman Will Arnett. One sight gag involving Flight of the Conchords' Kristen Schaal entices a handful of giggles, but shamefully so. The real problem with the movie is just the lack of spark and verve, which is a shame coming from the delightful Kristen Bell in her first starring film role.
Not only is the writing terrible and the laughs nonexistent, but so is the chemistry. Duhamel is just so goshdarn boring, and he and Bell don't illicit any emotions between them. What made The Proposal different than your average, shitty romantic comedy is that the two lead actors were so likable and really created a passion you can sense. There is nothing here. Nothing. It's like cardboard. There is a decided lack of so-called magic. Plus, the slight plot twist at the end is blatant to anyone who has seen a single, solitary movie in the past decade or so--and even, maybe to my 7-year-old brother who has basically only seen The Incredibles. Fuck. I wish I rewatched that movie again instead of this snooze fest.
Much like the recent outing of Leap Year, nothing could save this flick--not even an actress I liked once upon a time.
--Darcie Duttweiler