Sandra Bullock’s latest romantic comedy hit Blu-ray this month with the release of The Proposal by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on October 13th, 2009.

The Proposal is the story of Margaret Tate, a top New York book editor.

When Margaret is threatened by deportation due to immigration issues, she claims to be engaged to her assistant Andrew Paxton, which quickly takes them both on a Paxton family visit deep into Alaska.

The movie creates humor from the ‘fish out of water’ situation for Margaret, and attempts to add depth to Andrew’s character with a conflict between him and his father.

For my part I think that the goal of a romantic comedy is to try to take contrived situations and make them seem plausible, getting a few laughs along the way.

In this sense The Proposal wasn’t strong for me - many of the situations and conflicts seemed cliched and unlikely at best.

Perhaps for someone who has gone through the real immigration process, it is just too far from the reality to be believed.

That said, on the plus side the movie certainly delivers on the promises presented in the trailer, and you largely get what you expect.

Along with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds in the leading roles, the cast includes Malin Akerman, Craig T. Nelson, Mary Steenburgen and Betty White.

I reserve a special mention for Oscar Nunez from The Office as Ramone - his performance in this role was one of the highlights for me.

In fact in general I would say that the performances were fine, rather it was the screenplay itself that bothered me.

The Proposal was directed by Anne Fletcher, who previously directed 27 Dresses and Step Up.

The movie received a middle of the road assessment from the critics, and the Rotten Tomatoes score of 44% and IMDb score of 6.9/10 are right around what I would expect.

The Proposal was however a huge success at the cinema, reaching $163.8M at the US box office - perhaps highlighting Sandra Bullock’s wide appeal or the gulf between critics and the general movie going audience.

The video on the disc is an AVC 1080p encode at 26 Mbps, and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1.

The movie looks nice as clean as you would expect from a recent production.

Check out the details page for The Proposal to see full resolution PNG screen captures taken directly from the disc.

The main audio is lossless DTS-HD Master Audio with 5.1 channels - 24 bits resolution at 48 kHz.

The disc is a dual layer BD50, with 36.0 GB used and is coded for Region A.

Special features cover the typical range and include a Digital Copy for both Windows and iTunes.

Perhaps the most interesting inclusion is the alternate ending, which has an optional commentary.

It is probably more fair to call it the ‘original ending that didn’t really work well’, though it features an amusing performance from Reno 911’s Niecy Nash, and is well worth a look if you like her work.

When they reshot the ending her appearance in the movie was completely removed.

A handful of other deleted scenes are presented, also with optional commentary.

The only look behind the scenes we get is a set of outtakes, though there is always the audio commentary with director Anne Fletcher and writer Peter Chiarelli for more insight into the production.

The Proposal is a tidy and technically strong release from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.

While I don’t think the movie is a strong romantic comedy, I am sure it will appeal to Sandra Bullock fans, as was evidenced by the theatrical success of the movie.

The retail price is a fairly steep $44.99, though you can get it right now at Amazon for $25.99, saving 42%!

Extras:

• Alternate Ending With Optional Commentary
• Deleted Scenes With Optional Commentary
• Set Antics: Outtakes
• Feature Audio Commentary With Director Anne Fletcher And Writer Peter Chiarelli

Synopsis:

Sandra Bullock is at her funniest in the fresh, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy The Proposal. On the verge of being deported and losing the high-powered job she lives for, the controlling Margaret announces she’s engaged to her unsuspecting, put-upon assistant Andrew (Ryan Reynolds). After proposing a few demands of his own, the mismatched couple heads to Alaska where they have four short days to convince his quirky family and a very skeptical immigration agent that their charade is real. Featuring a star-studded supporting cast, including Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson and the delightfully inappropriate Betty White, this madcap comedy will have you saying “yes” to The Proposal again and again.

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