Because I Said So (2007)

"Because I Said So" is one of those types of movies. Yes, one of THOSE types. They keep being made because it seems that the genre of woman-centered dramedies that often blend into one another make for great date movies. Supposedly. Or at least because they continue to say so in all the woman's magazines at the grocery store check-out line.

This one stars Diane Keaton, who has been in one too many of these over the years, Lauren Graham, who has seen better writing on her series "Gilmore Girls", Piper Perabo, whose career tends to float under the radar, and Mandy Moore, whose range is limited but whose charm seems endless. The latter three star as sisters with a ridiculously over-involved mother (Keaton), who go through ups and downs, weddings, and such, while mom pokes her nose too deeply into Moore's love life. It sometimes feels like the confession section of "Cosmo" magazine crossed with the advice column. The answer (read, the ending) is visible from the get-go, and getting there leads to frequent rolling of one's eyes.

This is silly, light and fluffy comedy with little on its mind but the predictable happy ending. It's an okay way to pass the time, but expect to feel guilty in the morning.

Fmovies: I don't want to lie to you, I'm not a Diane Keaton fan, nor am I a Mandy Moore fan. Besides asking yourself why I even saw this movie, you should wonder how it managed to get a 9 from me despite my tastes.

Well, I went because my friends wanted to see it. And I gave it a 9 because I thought it was surprisingly good. It's not intense, it's not fast-paced, it's not a mind-bender. It's just a fun thing to watch. Diane Keaton is energetic and so much fun - and I promise you that by the end of the movie, she'll have (in some way or another) reminded you of your own mother. And Mandy Moore is very good as the quirky daughter who is, in reality, very much like her mother. It's just a sweet tale - most likely for women only - that reminds girls and their mothers that they're not alone in the battles. (Though viewers be warned - there's a little sexual content. And a little more conversation about sexual content...)

There's nothing terribly unique about it, but the writing is good and the plot is entertaining. There aren't going to be any surprises, it's just entertaining, lively, and very sweet.

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 fmovies. It's a waste of my time to write a review of this, and it's a waste of your time to read it. But IMDb requires 10 lines. Which is about 9 more than needed.

Characters: poorly written, and acted in the most grating, unlikable and unbelievable manner possible.

Relationships: completely unrealistic.

Dialogue: horrid.

Plot: Well, in one case the mother character gets (unexplained) laryngitis, which is the only time that the other characters get to speak more than two words around her without interruption. Yes, it's that bad.

This movie should have ended careers. Writers, producers, actors, studio execs, everyone.

Is that enough? Sorry for wasting your time.

If you can swallow the beautiful and sexy Mandy Moore as an uncoordinated doofus with low self-esteem who can't find a decent guy to go out with her, then you may be able to get into the spirit of "Because I said So." However, you'll also have to put up with Diane Keaton in a truly grating performance as a neurotic control freak of a mother who spends most of her time obsessing over the romantic travails of her youngest daughter, going so far as to post an ad on an internet dating site seeking out prospective husbands for the unsuspecting girl.

The actions of this modern-day Yenta the Matchmaker set into motion a whole host of sitcom-level complications and romantic comedy hijinks that are somehow supposed to be funny but wind up being merely irritating. The screenplay by Karen Leigh Hopkins and Jessie Nelson comes replete with a bevy of mother/daughter relationship clichés, with some really lame slapstick routines - Keaton getting stuck on an internet porn site, Keaton getting run over by a skater in a park, Keaton getting a cake in her face etc. - thrown in for bad measure.

Beyond Keaton and Moore, Gabriel Macht, Tom Everett Scott and Lauren Graham are just some of the other unfortunate actors trapped inside this "chick flick" fiasco.

Oh, my God, I swear I nearly killed myself while my friend and I were watching this movie. I'm not a chick flick girl and this movie is the reason why. Now I actually do love a few chick flicks that are fun, clever, and just harmless. This movie is extremely harmful to anyone who watches it, after watching this movie I felt like shoe shopping, listening to Sarah McLaughlin, bonding with my mother, moving my furniture, talking about boys, and baking cookies. This is the ultimate stereotype for women and makes us just look oh so bad. But it looked cute from the cover and I like Diane Keaton and Mandy Moore, so I wanted to give this movie a chance, but instead it just wasted my time and made me throw up a little in my mouth. I know that sounds bad since I'm a girl, but how in the heck was I supposed to like these characters? They were awful.

Daphne is a protective, manipulative, and pesky little mother who just loves her daughters more than most mothers should. She's especially obsessed with her baby daughter, Milly, who is having a hard time in the love department. Daphne takes out an ad on the internet as a mom looking for her daughter's life partner. She meets Jason, a promising guy who is stable, and a guy, Johnny, a musician with a psychotic son that she's convinced is a heart breaker. Milly meets them both looking "like chance" and she has to decide between stable, rich Jason or sensitive, loving Johnny. You can figure it out from here.

Seriously, these characters were horrible, just first off Daphne just comes off as a possessive and psychotic mom who needs a life so badly, because she's living it through her daughter's. Then Milly, she's dating and sleeping with these two guys at once and then when she gets busted, she's crying and we're supposed to feel bad for her? Why wasn't she just honest with the guys in the first place? The ending was horribly cliché'd as a chick flick film and was incredibly disturbing in some moments. This is an awful movie, I wouldn't recommend it unless you are the ultimate chick flick fan.

1/10