The Proposal (2001)

Nick Moran is a paranoid undercover cop, with Jennifer Esposito as his fake wife, brought into the investigation of a dangerous crime boss so he doesn't blow his cover. The two play off each other, at first bickering incessantly, until eventually a romantic attraction develops. All of this happens while they are attempting to tape incriminating evidence on gangster Stephen Lang. The acting by Moran, Esposito, and especially Lang, is good, and the twisty script has a few surprises. There are also some welcome moments of humor in the film. The only problem is , we have a movie without an acceptable ending. The finale is rushed, with unrealistic gun play, and tries for too many twists that just don't work. "The Proposal" is entertaining, if you can look beyond the flawed conclusion. - MERK

"The Proposal" tells of an undercover cop (Moran), somewhere in some city investigating some bad guys who are doing something...um, something bad no doubt because they laugh at bad things and look bad...that' s how we know they're bad. Said cop needs a "wife" as an excuse to keep underworld meetings short. Enter Esposito...a cop with a desk job who goes undercover, but not under the covers, as the wife. Bottom line (drum roll, please) the good guys win. Yea! A typical lackluster, no-brainer B-movie cop flick with some Maxwell Smart techno-gun thingy thrown in, and an obvious lack of the "juice" required for car crashes/chases, stunts, explosions, sex/nudity..oh yeah...and REHEARSALS. With a very tame R-rating for a couple of shootouts, "The Proposal" ignors the Hollywood maxim "When in doubt, titillate", fails to deliver anything substantial, and doesn't work well on any level except late night t.v. when the viewer is too tired to care. (D+)Note - The only place you'll see Esposito's thigh is on the box. And what the hell did they go to Scotland for?? Bad weather in Vancouver? One more piece of advice. When in a shootout, don't hide behind cardboard cartons. Duh.

1st watched 8/3/2002 - 3 out of 10(Dir-Richard Gale): Haphazardly-thrown together good cop/bad cop/undercover agent thriller that seems to change from one second to the next as far as what direction it wants to go. The main stars are ok in their roles, but their roles are so confusing I'm sure it was difficult for them to get a grasp on who their character was from one minute to the next so I don't really blame them. I blame the director and screen-writer because of the very choppy way this movie seems to have been put together. They never really seem to know what they want to do and focus on(the action, the sex, the complex plot - they needed to pick one and they didn't). The movie is about an undercover cop which then becomes about his partner, then about the bad guy, then the FBI, etc. I really think I need to be done here. Goodbye, enough said. Rent something else if you want to watch a good movie.

This film takes a familiar storyline and gives it a few interesting twists. I think that it is the characters and the script that make this movie as good as it is.The story is about an undercover detective (Moran) who leads a paranoid existence, constantly vigilant against being found out for who he really is. In order to keep his cover intact, he reluctantly accepts a new partner (Esposito) who has no undercover training and who may eventually put him in jeopardy.The Proposition takes you into the personal life of a detective who has been under for several months and the lengths he goes through to establish his identity as well as watch his own back.The film's antagonist, Simon Bacig (Lang) is great. He is a villain's villiain who plays dangerous, vain, and eccentric, all without going over the top.Great direction and script give this movie dimension and depth that allow you to get in touch with the characters and keep you hooked as you await the final outcome (which I guarantee, you won't be able to guess).