Hi everyone and welcome! I hope you all had a great Valentine’s Day. Since it is still the week of Valentine’s, I want to stick with the “romance” theme, in some way. So, today’s theme is Romantic Comedies. I love romance (no pun intended) and I love comedy. Put the two together and you get my favorite movie genre. Today’s Romantic Comedy movie is… drum roll please… The Proposal! I’m sure you’re wondering why I chose this particular movie to kick off movies. Well, not only are we still floating around the Valentine’s holiday, but most of us are still mourning the loss of TV comedy legend AND icon, Betty White. It has been over a month since the world lost Betty White, and I still can’t get enough of watching her shows and movies.
Well, to honor Betty White and stick with the theme of Romance, The Proposal is a good place to start. The movie stars Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock and was directed by Anne Fletcher. The Proposal has some big screen and small screen royalty. I mean you’ve got Sandra Bullock from: Miss Congeniality, The Blind Side, Gravity, and Ocean’s Eight just to name a few. There’s also Ryan Reynolds from: Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place, Green Lantern, and Deadpool. Let us not forget Craig T. Nelson from: Coach, Troop Beverly Hills, and The Incredibles (Mr. Incredible). We also have Mary Steenburgen from: Back to the Future Part III, Four Christmases, and The Help. And last but not least… Betty White from: The Golden Girls, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Hot in Cleveland, Lake Placid, and You Again.
If you haven’t seen the movie yet, let me give you a quick overview. I’ll try not to give away any spoilers, in case someone decides they want to watch it. Sandra Bullock’s character, Margaret Tate, is a pushy boss in New York, who originates from Canada. She finds out that she will be deported back to Canada for an expired visa, so pushes her young assistant, Ryan Reynolds’s Andrew Paxton, to marry her so she can keep her visa status. However, this happens right before Andrew is supposed to go back to his hometown, in Alaska, to celebrate his grandmother’s 90th birthday. Margaret ends up going to Alaska with Andrew. Needless to say, hilarity ensues when Margaret and Andrew end up in Alaska, the family dynamics take over, and Andrew’s past shows up.
The movie came out in June 2009. I can’t remember if I saw the movie in theaters or not. If I did, I went with one of my friends. I thought it was a funny movie. There are a lot of great comedic actors in this movie. But none other than Betty White… The First Lady of television. I thought it was a good movie, not great (sorry Anne, the director), and I apologize if there are people out there who love the movie. I didn’t think it was a bad movie, it was good. When I watch it, I watch it because of Betty. It feels like every scene she was in were the funniest scenes in the whole movie. Betty was the ABSOLUTE scene stealer. The “Easter egg hunt”, the chant in the forest, the bachelorette party. Betty is a gold mine. So very funny and so very talented.
Betty White can truly do it all. I know, I just mentioned her as if she’s still with us. It’s just hard to imagine a world without Betty in it. I don’t think any of us will ever truly believe that she’s gone. By continuing to watch all her tv shows and movies, she will ALWAYS be with us. She will never be gone. Betty can sing, dance, be brilliant in game shows, and act. Comedy is where she shines. That is her true calling. If I think about The Proposal without Betty White in it, I don’t think it would have been the same. It definitely would have had a slightly different feel to it. She almost wasn’t in it, because she didn’t want to fly across the country to film the movie and be away from her Golden Retriever for two and a half months.
For those of us who have seen the movie, I think it’s safe to say we’re all extremely glad Betty did choose to fly over to the east coast to film the movie. Can we imagine if someone else played the part of Grandma Annie? If someone else played that role, who would it have been? Who would we have wanted it to be? To be honest, I don’t think there was anyone better for the role than Betty herself. It was as if the role was written for her. Either it seems that way, or she’s just really good at her job. Or maybe it’s a little bit of both. Who knows?
I’ve noticed that when I need a good laugh, I’ll find a clip, or watch one of my DVDs that has Betty White in it. Her comedic timing is impeccable. She makes it seem so effortless, comedy comes so naturally to her and it’s absolutely amazing. The bloopers clips are so much fun to watch too, because you can see how much fun they have when filming, but also when a mistake happens, Betty not only teases her fellow actors, but she’ll tease herself too when she’s the one to make the error. Her laugh is adorable too, which makes the blooper even funnier. I’ll laugh at a blooper clip, because it’s hilarious, but I’ll laugh even more when Betty is the one to break and she’s laughing.
I have said on more than one occasion that Betty White is the scene stealer in The Proposal. I said it when I first saw the movie and I will continue to say it for the rest of time. Betty makes that movie. The other actors did great too when it was their time to shine, but when Betty is in it, forget it… it’s Betty’s time to shine. Sometimes Betty’s character doesn’t have to say anything, and she’ll steal the show. Good ole physical comedy. Betty will always be a comedy genius. She is a true legend and icon. There will never be another person like her. And quite frankly, I don’t want there to be. There will only ever be one Betty White and she will live on forever in comedy and classic game shows.
Thank you, Betty for being a friend to many. We sure miss you down here. I sure like to think Allen, your Golden Girls, and your animal friends were all there waiting for you, to welcome you and to share a cheesecake. You are a scene stealer and will be forever GOLDEN.
Hanging with Kristina 