Credit: Netflix

Ryan Reynolds trends for five minutes on the internet, and suddenly everyone is back watching The Proposal again.

Happens every single time. In fact, at this point, Netflix should probably just move the film straight into the trending section permanently and save everybody the effort. One little Marvel rumour, something about Deadpool, or a Mother’s Day post for Blake Lively, is enough to remind people why they love Reynolds so much.

And fair enough because The Proposal is one of those rom-coms people physically cannot stop rewatching. You already know every scene and every joke. But does it matter? The second Sandra Bullock storms into that office as Margaret Tate, you are trapped again!

For a handful of people who somehow missed this film the first fifteen times it aired on television, Margaret (Sandra Bullock) is a brutally demanding New York book editor whose entire office is scared of her. And then we have Ryan Reynolds as Andrew, her assistant, who spends most of his life stressed and exhausted, fulfilling her demands on cue.

After the initial buildup, Margaret finds out she is about to be deported back to Canada because her visa has expired. Naturally, she panics and tells immigration officers she is engaged to Andrew. Poor lad didn’t even get a warning. He is just dragged into it against his will. Phew, what a nightmare of a workplace and boss.

So the two head off to Alaska to convince Andrew’s family the engagement is real, and that’s where the film fully turns into rom-com madness. Andrew’s family immediately become obsessed with wedding plans, and Margaret has to pretend she is emotionally available for the first time in her life.

And can we talk about the chemistry for a second because wow! That’s the reason this film has survived for so long. Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds spend most of the runtime arguing, embarrassing each other or trying not to admit they fancy each other, and it works ridiculously well. The enemies-to-lovers trope, but here, they need each other more than anything.

Also, people forget how massive this film actually was when it was released. It made over $300 million worldwide, became one of Sandra Bullock’s biggest box office hits, and basically sealed the deal for Reynolds into rom-com heartthrob territory for years. And weirdly? It’s aged better than loads of rom-coms from that era.

Now, if you think about it, the timing of this Netflix comeback makes complete sense. Viewers are exhausted right now. Everything trending lately is either murder documentaries, survival thrillers or psychological dramas where everybody is deeply traumatised by episode two. Then The Proposal turns up, offering snowy Alaska and Sandra Bullock accidentally falling naked onto Ryan Reynolds in front of a dog. Of course, people are rewatching.

Plus, Reynolds has reached that stage where audiences revisit his older films every single time he trends online. The same thing happened with Definitely, Maybe. The same thing happened with Free Guy. But the proposal always shoots back fastest because people are attached to it emotionally now. It’s comfort-watch territory, and we’re here for it.