This woman! The proposal gave new meaning to the unorthodox romance with the love story of Margaret Tate and Andrew Paxton.
The 2009 romantic comedy tells about the unconventional relationship between Margaret (Sandra Bullock) and her assistant Andrew (Ryan Reynolds) after the publisher finds out that she is going to be deported. Margaret from Canada plans to stay in the US, forcing Andrew to pretend to be her fiance.
However, the two get more than they bargained for when they visit Andrew’s family, including conniving grandmother Annie (Betty White) in Alaska. After announcing the news of their engagement, the couple falls in love… despite their opposite characters.
“We first met nine years ago [because] we had a mutual friend,” Reynolds told ET Canada in June 2009 about his relationship with Bullock. “We’ve been friends ever since.
The “Deadpool” actor noted that although he has known the “Miss Congeniality” actress for many years, they have never worked together. However, it was hard to deny their dynamics on the set.
“In terms of bonding, chemistry is, I think, the last magical component left in Hollywood. It’s something you can’t control,” Reynolds explained. “He either is, or he is not. When it’s there, it’s like winning the lottery. You really have to get up to chemistry. We just had some fun.”
More than a decade after the film hit theaters, Bullock and Reynolds reunited to celebrate White’s 98th birthday in a funny tribute video. In the clip, the former colleagues separately serenaded the show’s graduate Mary Tyler Moore, and then jokingly competed for White’s affection.
“From Sandy, who loves you more than Ryan,” Bullock sang, before the clip cut to Reynolds’ intervention: “From Ryan, who loves you so much more than Sandy.”
The Buried actor added, “What does Sandy do for you every year? She kind of shows up and hands you flowers in just black socks and with a dozen gold bracelets, like you asked? I doubt it.”
Almost two years later, White died on December 31, 2021, just a few weeks before her 100th birthday. Her “Proposal” partners later paid tribute to the late actress, with Reynolds tweeting: “The world looks different now. She knew how to deceive expectations. She managed to become very old and somehow not old enough. We’re going to miss you, Betty. Now you know the secret.”
Bullock, for her part, told People magazine that she planned to honor White’s memory by drinking vodka (the comedian’s favorite) “with ice, with a slice of lemon and a hot dog on the other side.” She added, “I’m going to have to buy rose-colored glasses because Betty was like that for all of us.”
Scroll down to see what the cast of “The Proposal” has been doing since 2009:
Sandra Bullock
Bullock portrayed the energetic book publisher Margaret Tate, who falls in love with her assistant Andrew. Then the Virginia native starred in the films “All about Steve”, “The Invisible Side” (for which she won an Oscar in 2010), “Heat, Gravity”, “Our Brand Crisis”, “Ocean’s Eight Friends”, “Bird Box” and “The Lost City”. Since 1996, Bullock has worked as a producer on more than 15 projects, including the films “Miss Congeniality”, “The Proposal” and the George Lopez show. She is the founder of the production company Fortis Films.
The “Practical Magic” star was married to Jesse James from 2005 to 2010. She moved on to photographer Brian Randall, whom she has been dating since early 2015. Bullock adopted son Louis in 2010 and daughter Leila in 2015.
Ryan Reynolds
Reynolds played Margaret’s assistant and the possible love interest of Andrew Paxton, an aspiring book publisher. Then the native of Canada starred in the films “Green Lantern”, “Deadpool”, “Life”, “Killer’s Bodyguard”, “Pokemon Detective Pikachu”, “Free Guy”, “Red Notice” and “Project Adam”. He has also voiced characters in The Croods, Turbo and The Croods: A New Age. Reynolds is set to reprise his role as Wade Wilson/Deadpool in the third part of the franchise. The actor made his debut as a producer in 2011 with the documentary “The Whale” and has since worked on both Deadpool films, “Shotgun Wedding” and “Energy.” His credits include “Deadpool 2” and the short films “Truce” and “Match Made in Hell”.
The graduate of “Two guys, a girl and a pizzeria” co-founded the production company Maximum Effort in 2018. In the same year, Reynolds acquired a stake in Aviation Gin, and in 2019 he acquired a stake in Mint Mobile. He is also a co-owner of Welsh football club Wrexham AFC.
Reynolds was married to Scarlett Johansson from 2008 to 2011. He moved on to Blake Lively, whom he married in 2012. The couple has three daughters, James, Inez and Betty, born in 2014, 2016 and 2019 respectively.
Mary Steenbergen
The Arkansas native played Andrew’s mom, Grace Paxton. Then Steenbergen appeared in the films “Open Road”, “The Servant”, “The Last Vegas”, “Book Club”, “The Happiest Season” and “Alley of Nightmares”. She also achieved success on television, starring in the films “Justified”, “Orange is the hit of the season”, “The Last Man on Earth”, “Bless the Deer” and “Zoey’s Incredible Playlist”.
