Miguel Cruz All of the warning signs are there from frame one: an opening sequence that intercuts between shots of the movie and the credits on a black screen, mobsters fresh out of movie mobster school, and unnecessary cross dissolves from one scene to the next. And then of course there are the fellow police officers who yell at one another most of the time, whether it be the captain admonishing the hero for taking too much time on the case or the hero and his new partner who don't see eye to eye. I figured at the very least if I stuck around, I would be treated to some gratuitous nudity courtesy of the beautiful Jennifer Esposito. Unfortunately that didn't happen, yet I found myself being absorbed by the developing relationship between her character and the undercover cop played by Nick Moran. There are some nice moments that elevate the film above its direct-to-video trappings. A scene where Esposito places a banana to her ear as if it were a phone has such a genuineness and spontaneity that it doesn't come off as a cheap attempt at humor but as an actual moment involving real people. The two leads deserve a lot of credit for making this movie what it is. Nick Moran has a certain star quality, a charisma that holds the viewer with him. He gives everything he has in this performance, particularly midway through the film when his psyche is tortured after having been forced to assassinate an enemy of the mobster he's trying to bring down. It's almost as if he didn't get the memo letting him know that this was direct-to-video garbage and that he really need not try so hard. Fortunately for the film and the viewer he does.

George Parker "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.

bworas "The Proposal" turned out to be a very pleasant surprise not simply for what it was, but what it wasn't. Amazingly, there are no cliches in this relatively low budget suspence/drama work. Most notable is the camerawork, with not a single pedestrian sequence of shots. Subtly original, these camera angles serve to nicely parallel the storyline which is unpredictable in both its direction and its mood. The audience, as a result, must give its full attention throughout this film or risk losing its bearings. Those who watch this film closely will be rewarded not only with a stimulating storyline, but the opportunity to experience some superbly interesting and well developed charactors as well. For those who appreciate the nuances of filmmaking, this is a must see.

dwpollar 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.