Greetings again from the darkness. It is now official. Diane Keaton has reached the parody of herself stage. She has become a caricature of her character. The loopy, over-the-top 60 yr old female who screams stereotype with each line. It was evident in "Something's Gotta Give" that she had made the turn, but "Because I Said So" time warps her into the level of folly ... similar to Leslie Nielsen (of "Naked Gun" fame) who once was also a respected actor. The difference being, Nielsen is at least funny, Keaton is purely grating and obnoxious. And enough with the turtle necks and ridiculous wardrobe. No one dresses like that ... especially in L.A.
Of course, there is more to this movie than Diane Keaton ... wait, no there really isn't. The only semblance of a bright spot is the glimpse of potential flashed by Mandy Moore. She really has screen charisma and no longer just looks like a big kid. She has 3 films over the next 18 months, so we will see just how she is progressing. Other than that, all we get is "Gilmore Girls" Lauren Graham as the wisest of Keaton's three daughters and Piper Perabo as one of the most nondescript characters of all time. I guess she was cast because she looked decent in underwear for the massage scene.
As for the poor guys in this one ... no not us schmucks who actually paid to watch, I am talking about the actors. Tom Everett Scott is totally miscast as a workaholic architect. Gabriel Macht ("A Love Song for Bobby Long") has little to do but flash his smile and twinkle his eyes. And Stephen Collins is evidently the new Tom Skerritt. You know, the cute older guy in all the chick flicks??? The director of this horrid mess is Michael Lehmann, who in the past has delivered such gems as "Hudson Hawk", "Airheads" and the torturous "40 Days and 40 Nights". When will Hollywood stop giving this guy money to make this worthless fluff? I am sure this weak, no-content film will make money ... simply because real life mothers and daughters will think they should go see it and laugh that someone's relationship is worse than theirs. I say, SAVE YOUR MONEY and rent "Terms of Endearment", which may be the best movie ever about a mother and daughter's struggles to show their love for each other. Just stay away from this one!
Because I Said So
2007
Action / Comedy / Drama / Romance
Because I Said So
2007
Action / Comedy / Drama / Romance
4% - Critics
65% - Audience
5.5Keywords: parent child relationshiplos angeles, californiasibling relationshipmother daughter relationshipnew love
Plot summary
Approaching age sixty, Daphne Wilder divorced when she was young, has not dated since, and has raised on her own and has fostered a close, loving relationship with her three daughters, Maggie, Mae and Milly, she now assisting Milly in her successful catering business. Daphne was mother of the bride for a first time at Maggie's wedding, and a second time at Mae's wedding, but she fears there won't be a third and final time for a Milly wedding in insecure Milly attracting only who seem to be the wrong men. Not wanting Milly to turn into another "alone" version of herself at age sixty, Daphne, without telling any of her daughters let alone Milly, decides to take matters into her own hands by placing a personal ad for a potential mate for Milly. Scheduling all seventeen interviews in succession at a restaurant, Daphne finds the ad has attracted one "loser" after another, until she reaches number seventeen, Jason, an architect who is handsome and seems smart, well-bred, successful and forward thinking about his life. The two arrange for Jason to meet Milly by "accident". What Daphne does not anticipate is that there ends up being a number eighteen, Johnny, who witnessed the interviews from the sidelines as the guitarist performing at the restaurant, and while Johnny did approach Daphne in his interest in meeting Milly from what he heard of the interviews, she immediately dismissed him solely because he is a musician and thus irresponsible by nature, much like her ex-husband. In their accidental meetings, Milly embarks on a relationship with both Jason and Johnny concurrently, and upon learning about Johnny in the picture, Daphne starts pushing Jason as the favored one to Milly. Beyond Milly, Jason and Johnny's own thoughts about their two relationships, the two men who know nothing about the other being in Milly's life, a question becomes how Milly eventually learning about the ad, an inevitability, will factor into what happens, not only about Milly's love life but her relationship with her mother. In helping Milly with her love life and only fostered by watching old Gary Cooper movies, Daphne may dredge up latent feelings of romance of her own, it which she may find in the most unlikely of places.
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A Bad Case of Static Cling
love the actresses but
Daphne Wilder (Diane Keaton) happily marries off her two older daughters, Maggie (Lauren Graham) and Mae (Piper Perabo). Sadly her romantically-challenged youngest daughter Milly (Mandy Moore) is giving up. Daphne takes matters into her own hands and interviews men from the internet. She decides on entrepreneur Jason (Tom Everett Scott) and schemes to get them together. Musician Johnny (Gabriel Macht) witnesses the interviews and sets off to meet her himself. Milly ends up dating both men.
This is rather disappointing. I love every one of these actresses. The movie piles on a bunch of rom-com stuff. Bits of it seems fine but most of this is bad. It is bad writing. Keaton is doing some silly slapstick stuff. Moore is rather bland. Perabo doesn't get much screen time. Graham has some limited fun with Tony Hale. The two guys are pretty and possibly in the wrong roles. Macht can play the hard driven businessman better and Scott is the more artistic type. It's a lot of useless fluff that don't come together substantively.
Mandy Moore Enters Chick Flick Territory
After a series of failed relationships, a daughter (Mandy Moore) is provided a boyfriend by her mother (Diane Keaton),although not to her knowledge. On her own, she finds another young man she is attracted to, and over the course of the film' she must decide between the man who makes her happy and the man who makes her mother happy.
It goes without saying that this is a "chick flick" and will definitely appeal to women more than men. I was told to watch it simply because of my love for Mandy Moore, although I have to say I wasn't completely feeling it here. For those who love her for her innocence and charm, you might be put off -- she has sex scenes with multiple men and other things that aren't her wholesome tradition (which she seems to be moving away from).
I think overall I found the film enjoyable, even if I wasn't really the audience the film was geared towards. Moore kept me entertained, and Diane Keaton was alright (though she left me wondering about why an old woman needs to wear thirty strings of pearls at once). I can't say much about the romance aspect -- I'm more traditional myself, so the dating multiple men scenario wasn't my cup of tea.
By all means, check this one out if you're interested. It's better than average, and something I would watch again if a girlfriend forced me to. The title comes into play surprisingly little (actually, it should have been explained more, I thought). What do I know? Watch it if you want, don't if you don't. I'm not encouraging it.