1. The Proposal vs. 27 Dresses
English 2 (ENGL 0205)
Class Assignment 2
Sharon Chow Ci Yung (0313387)
FNBE JUL 2013 - ENGL 0205 English 2

2. Pre-writing
Setting of movie
Stika, Alaska
Andrew’s hometown
Magaret meets Andrew’s family
Magaret confessed her parents died when she was sixteen
New York
Jane lives in an apartment alone in New York
She attended two weddings there
She left her planner on a New York cab
She keeps her bridesmaid dresses in her New York apartment
Plot of movie
’27 Dresses’ has a typical plot
The female lead meets her prince charming and all her problem disappeared
Jane meets Kevin
‘The Proposal’ has a unique plot
The boss proposed to her assistant
Magaret, the demanding boss proposed to her underachiever assistant, Andrew
Main Characters’ characteristics
Jane is kind and loving
She never rejects others
She helps her sister to plan her wedding
Margaret is selfish and demanding
She persuades Andrew to marry her though he might get into trouble for that
She sets high standards for those who work under her
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3. The Proposal vs. 27 Dresses
There is more than a hand full of movie genres out there. One of the most popular
ones is no doubt, romantic comedy. Although most of the time, romantic comedies do
not earn lots of praise from movies critics but these movies sure earn big bucks that are
more than enough help the Hollywood movie producers to make their ends meet. So,
what exactly is a romantic comedy? A romantic comedy is film with central narrative
motor with a quest for love. This quest is portrayed in a light-hearted way and almost
always to a successful conclusion. Unlike comedies which are always full of laughter, as
romantic comedies are portrayed in a light-hearted way, crying is an essential for this
genre as it occupies a crucial space in narratives of a romantic comedy (McDonald,
2007). It is a scandal of culture that there has never been a widely accepted theory of
romantic comedy to organize the general sense of subject (Henderson, 1978). To make
it simple, a romantic comedy is a unique genre that includes a variety of components
such as tears, joys and laughter.
I have chosen two romantic comedies which are Sandra Bullock’s ‘The Proposal’ and
Katherine Heigl’s ‘27 Dresses’. Both of these movies are leaded by top-notch actress
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4. and scored impressive results in terms of box office revenue. ‘The Proposal’ is about
Margaret, a successful Canadian career woman who works as an executive editor in
chief in a book publishing company. Everything seems to go well for her until she learns
that she is about to get deported to Canada due to her expired visa. Then, she comes
out with the idea of persuading her assistant, Andrew to marry her so that she could
stay in the states. On the other hand, ’27 Dresses’ is the story of Jane, a young woman
who lives alone in her apartment in New York. Over the years, she had been a
bridesmaid for a whooping twenty-seven weddings. She never rejects when anyone
asks her for help when it comes to wedding planning until she found out that her sister,
Tess is going to marry the man she loves. With an aching heart, Jane plans Tess’
wedding. Although these two movies are from the same genre but they are very
different in terms of setting, main characters’ characteristics and plot.
One of the most distinct differences between ‘The Proposal’ and ’27 Dresses’ is the
setting of the movie. The majority of the storyline of ‘The Proposal’ took place in Stika,
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5. Alaska which is the male lead, Andrew’s hometown. Andrew brought Magaret along to
Stika for her to meet his family. Upon their arrival there, Magaret realised almost every
single shop there carries the name Paxton, Andrew’s last name. She then realised
Andrew’s family is very well-off. After spending some time with the Paxton family,
Magaret felt the strong bond between them. She then told Andrew the fact that her
parents passed away when she was at a tender age of sixteen made her unable to
retrieve the feeling of having a family. It was Andrew’s first time seeing his tough boss’
fragile side. The setting of ’27 Dresses’ is situated at New York City, New York. New
York is the place where Jane lives. At the beginning of the movie, she was seen rushing
in between two weddings using a signature yellow New York cab. When Kevin visited
her apartment he was amazed at the fact that she wasted the space of her apartment
by keeping twenty-seven bridesmaid dresses in her closet despite the fact that New
York is known for the limited and high-priced living spaces.
Moreover, main characters’ personalities is another difference between these two
movies. The female lead of ‘The Proposal’, Margaret is known for her selfish and
demanding nature by her co-workers. She sets high standards for her workers.
Everyone seems to get all tense up when she enters the office. Her selfish side was
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6. shown when she persuades Andrew to marry her despite the fact he might get a two
hundred and fifty thousand dollars grand fine and sat behind bars for five years if they
were caught red-handed. For the male lead, Andrew, he appears to be smart and
independent fellow. He made a deal with Margaret that he will marry her if she gives
him a promotion in return. He showed his independent side when the fact that he left his
family fortune in Alaska alone and flew to New York alone in order to pursue his own
dreams. The female lead of ’27 Dresses’, Jane is a kind and loving young lady. She
attended two weddings simultaneously on one night to help the brides. Apart from being
kind, her loving nature shows when she agreed to help her sister, Tess to plan her
weeding although the man Tess going to marry, George, is also her love interest. The
male lead of the movie, Kevin is seemingly a talented and honest young man. He has
talents when it comes to writing as he works as writer for the local New York paper
where he writes weekly article on weddings. He shows his honest side when he told
Jane that her inability to refuse others is her weakness instead of strength.
Furthermore, the plot is also one of the differences between the two movies. The plot
of ‘The Proposal’ is rather unique and fresh. Unlike typical movies where the male lead
proposes to the female lead, in ‘The Proposal’, the demanding female boss, Magaret,
proposes to her assistant, Andrew. This female lead is portrayed as an individual who
had nothing besides success in her career. She lost her parents at the young age of
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7. sixteen, making her unable to remember the warmth and happiness brought by family
members. Andrew, the male lead, unlike other male leads in most of the movies who
are usually successful in their careers, he is just an assistant who has to endures the
hardship working under a boss with high standards. Compared to ‘The Proposal’, ’27
Dresses’ has a rather typical plot. In the movie, Jane falls for the wrong man, George,
someone who only thinks of her as someone nice and ended up engaging with her
sister, Tess. As she suffers from a heart break, her prince charming, Kevin shows up in
her life.
To conclude, if I had to one movie that I personally enjoy better, no doubt, my choice
would be ‘27 Dresses’. Its setting is in my favourite city, New York, the storyline is more
romantic and the characters are more likeable. If you’re a girl who enjoy fantasising
about having a prince charming to walk into your life, ‘27 Dresses’ is definitely a mustwatch.
References
Henderson B. (1978). Film Quarterly: Romantic Comedy Today: Semi-Tough or
Impossible, 31, (1-2).
Langan, J. (2010). College Writing Skills, (8th edition) New York: McGraw Hill.
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8. McDonald, T.J. (2007). Romantic Comedy: Boys Meet Girls Genre. London: Wallflower
Press.
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