Textual Analysis- Romantic Comedy-'The Proposal' (first 3m.51secs)

The proposal is an American romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds which was released in June 2009.

In the opening scene of the film the proposal, we are introduced to the female protagonist, Margret (Sandra Bullock). We as the audience can generalise the genre as a romantic comedy straight away by the upbeat music at the start of the credits (find my way, the Gabe Dixon band). As we are introduced to the male protagonist, Andrew, the genre defines itself and becomes clear. Margret is shown to be up, alert and on time as well as being portrayed as quite vain as we see her looking in the mirror pulling faces and examining her face. on the other hand Andrew is shown to be woken up late, rushing around and in hurry to get somewhere. We don't no how these characters know each other but we certainly know that its inevitable they do, as romantic comedies are based on the idea of boy meets girl, true love and especially the idea of the 'perfect couple'. The first few scenes are shot in the morning so the lighting is quite bright and fresh and we get a clear indication that the movie is set in new york, America when first we hear the coffee girl speak in a American accent and second of all when we see the yellow cabs in the hussel and bussel. As the opening scenes progress we can also see the high rise buildings in the back ground and the 'subways' which adds to the build up of location.
As the music fades out the location moves to an office block where we see Andrew, carrying coffee and looking very hurried. As we see him spill the coffee down himself he looks agitated and quite stressed. We get the idea that Margret has quite a high status, as she is dressed in a black skirt suit looking very much like a professional/business woman. The way she is walking and carrying her bag on her arm also gives the idea of this as she is quite poised as she walks calmly through the streets. Andrew, although dressed in a suit and tie, does not give the impression of being of high status. Even though he is dressed the way he is, he seems clumsy and rushed and also the way he picked up the coffee from Starbucks maybe gives the idea that he works in a place of high status but isn't of this status himself. This is confirmed when he asks one of his co-workers to swap shirts with him before his boss gets there as his is coffee stained. we then start to piece together that the female protagonist is his boss as she steps into the same building. We get confirmation of her high status as she walks through the office and everybody makes them self look busy and stops gossiping, but after she had disappeared they go back to the chatting and sitting around. This, along with the quirkey music in the background gives quite a comic effect that might make the audience laugh or smile and also maybe relates to real life in a sense. We see that Andrew is infact her assistant and that she is of high importance within the company, which we find out is a book publishing company, as she has her own office and also her own P.A.
This is quite typical of the opening to a romantic comedy as it has all the keep codes and conventions within it. Bright lighting, chirpy music, and storyline which gives obvious clues that suggest the characters will find each out they are attracted to one another/a perfect love match and end up together in the end. We as the audience see some of the plot before the characters do. The editing has been kept quite simple and there are various shots which include long shots to set the scene, close ups as we are introduced to the characters and also tracking shots as we see them on there journey to work. This helps the audience bulid up an understanding of the character as we follow them.
We know that as a Rom-Com, the film will be comic, and both aspects of romantic and comedy are submerged into the opening sequence of this film.