Viewed in
2010
Formats
HD TV
Premise
Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds star as two coworkers pretending to be engaged to prevent her from being deported, visit his family, and hilarity ensues.
Liked
Bullock and Reynolds.
Disliked
Lack of originality.
Thoughts
I liked it better in 1995 when it was called While You Were Sleeping.
The best part was the comedic performances by the two leads. Reynolds proved again that he was more than just a pretty face and Bullock proved that she could still deliver fastballs even at her Hollywood age. Combined, their chemistry was very funny at times, as they stumbled through typical romantic comedy setups. Oscar Nunez put in some funny work in multiple small roles. Visually, there was some beautiful scenery of "Alaskan" wilderness. According to Ebert, it was actually shot in the New England area.
Like most rom-coms, it had silly premises, complications that could have been resolved with one easy line, and predictable plot points. As a Bullock fan, the most egregious flaw was how much it borrowed from While You Were Sleeping. It was rather shocking how much was taken: an orphan pretends to be engaged and is taken in by a quirky family, a son not wanting his father's business, a climactic/conflicted wedding scene, etc. My hunch was that executive producer Bullock either unwittingly allowed these similarities to be, or intentionally ported those parts in, hoping to repeat past successes. Either way, it was a shame, because what made the previous film successful was authentic, funny dialogue, not the plot points.
Bullock and Reynolds were very charming together, but I know both can do (and have done) better in this genre.
What I would change
Got rid of the similarities to you-know-what.
