The Proposal is the kind of formula romantic comedy that you’ve seen a hundred times before.  There are no surprises, but the picture is an absolute delight, certainly the funniest and most enjoyable movie of its kind to come along in quite awhile.

The primary reason for its success is the casting.  Stars Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds (both are pictured) are a perfect mesh, perhaps the best pairing for this genre of film since the days of Doris Day and Rock Hudson.

Sandra plays an insensitive high-powered New York senior book editor, hated by her underlings, particularly her personal assistant (Reynolds), who puts up with her crap because he wants to be promoted to the position of editor.

When Sandra, a Canadian citizen, learns that she is about to be deported, she makes a business arrangement with Reynolds.  He will marry her, so that she can stay in the country, and she will promote him.  Now, the first thing that this sham couple must do in order to fool the Immigration authorities is spend a weekend with Reynolds’ parents (Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson) and dotty grandmother (Betty White) at the family home in Sitka, Alaska, sharing the same bedroom.  They grin, bear it and guess what happens.

The 2-disc DVD from Touchstone Home Entertainment contains a digital copy, audio commentary by director Anne Fletcher and writer Peter Chiarelli, deleted scenes with an alternate ending, and outtakes.

The Final Chapter

I love the title of the last episode of Showtime’s Brotherhood, The Final Season (8 episode/2-discs), now available via CBS DVD/Paramount Home Entertainment.  It’s called “Birnam Wood Come to Dunsinane,” and if you don’t understand its significance, I suggest that you read your Shakespeare.

Brotherhood was a terrific gangster series, equal in every way to The Sopranos and, like that classic HBO program, it has a somewhat unresolved conclusion, leaving the door open for a possible follow-up movie.

There are major changes in the brothers’ lives during this final season. The honorable Tommy, who had planned to leave politics because of the inherent corruption, now finds himself making some shocking choices that could end his career and land him in prison.

The consequences from the head injury Michael suffered at the end of the first season are becoming worse to the point where he has become so unstable that he brutally murders a U.S. Attorney.  Of course, the fact that he’s having problems with the Italian Mafia, or that both the State Police and the FBI are watching him, doesn’t help his paranoid tendencies either.

Annabeth Gish, Ethan Embry, Kevin Chapman, Fiona Erickson, Brian F. O’Byrne and Fionnula Flanagan co-star in this superbly acted, gritty blue-collar drama.

Production values are first-rate.

More Numb3rs

Numb3rs, Season 5 (23 episodes/6-discs) picks up the narrative of the Eppes brothers where the previous season left off.

Math genius Charlie (David Krumholtz) has lost his security clearance and his FBI agent brother, Don (Rob Morrow), is also being investigated by his Bureau superior (Keith Carradine, who seems to be playing a lot of FBI bosses these days).

In the meantime, the brothers (officially and unofficially) have their hands full of baffling cases, including one involving kidnapping and ATM robberies and another straight out of the movie, L.A. Confidential.

The Paramount/CBS DVD set has a blooper reel, audio commentary on selected episodes and more.

ADDENDA

Best Bets on DVD is an independent newsletter, published monthly by Michael B. Druxman, Public Relations.   Mailing address: PMB 142, 6425 S. IH-35, Suite 105, Austin, TX 78744.  Phone: (512) 282-2684.

Distributors wishing to submit discs for review should be aware of the following:

1. Send finished products only via U.S. mail or another carrier (i.e. UPS, FedEx, etc.) to the above address. 

2. All discs submitted become the property of Best Bets on DVD, and will not be returned.