Three comedies vie for top spot

By Sarah Sluis

From the gate, The Proposal and Year One look as though they'll both hit $20 million this weekend. If The Hangover can handle the competition, and hold on to its below-average drop, it will also hit $20 million, making this week a close race between three comedies.

Judging by reviews, The Proposal (3,056 theatres) appears to be a typical romantic comedy, slick and well-acted, but hampered by its predictable format. Our executive editor Kevin Lally praised the chemistry between Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, saying, "The situations may be formulaic, but the teamwork of the two leads brings them to sparkling life." Manohla Dargis at the NY Times was not so kind, lamenting the repetition of stereotypical rom-com setups. However, even she noted that Bullock and Reynolds pulled off good performances, adding that Bullock's "no shrew in need of taming. She's just another female movie star in need of a vehicle that won't throw her overboard for sexist giggles and laughs."

Year One (3,022 theatres), which comes from writer/director Harold Ramis (read an interview with him here), has also been received with shrugs. Despite Ramis' pedigree (he's responsible for Groundhog Day, Caddyshack, and Analyze This), our Frank Scheck found that "the script�co-written by Ramis and the team of Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg (NBC's "The Office")�is strictly bargain-basement, offering a plethora of poop, sex and fart jokes and vulgarity without a smidgen of wit." EW's Owen Gleiberman found the comedy provoked only a "handful of chuckles," and pronounced it "silliness run mildly wild."

With these so-so reviews, I wouldn't be surprised if audiences again choose The Hangover, whose humor is neither stale nor ancient, but shocking to the point that at least some viewers will come away repulsed, not indifferent.

On the specialty side, another comedy opens this weekend: Whatever Works, the latest from Woody Allen. Dana Stevens from Slate opened her review of the film this way: "Imagine if Annie Hall had been forgotten in a Ziploc bag under your couch cushions and left there for 30 years." Needless to say, it did not play well for her. Whatever Works will compete with quirky comedy Away We Go, which will move into 134 theatres with hopes to cross the $1 million mark.

Next week, the machines are back with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which will be joined by weepie My Sister's Keeper.