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Movie Review | 'Because I Said So'

Mother, Please, I’d Rather Do It Myself

By A.O. Scott

• Feb. 2, 2007

In “Because I Said So,” Diane Keaton plays Daphne Wilder, the single mother of three grown daughters: Maggie (Lauren Graham), the responsible one; Milly (Mandy Moore), the single, flaky one; and Mae (Piper Perabo), the one who wears the skimpiest clothes. Mom, while a bit scattered in other ways, is a fanatical micromanager when it comes to her girls’ emotional lives, and she is especially worried that Milly, who manages a catering business, will end up with the wrong guy or no guy at all.

Pretty soon, thanks to Daphne’s Internet dating machinations, Milly has two guys, the wrong Mr. Right and the right Mr. Right. See if you can guess which is which. Jason (Tom Everett Scott) is an architect who knows a lot about wine and lives in a sleek modern house in the hills overlooking Los Angeles. When Milly breaks a dish on his patio, he gets very upset. Johnny (Gabriel Macht), his rival, is a guitar player and single dad who shares a cozy bungalow in Venice with his adorable son and his own single dad (Stephen Collins). When a dish breaks in his kitchen, he takes it in stride.

The rules of romantic comedy dictate a few wrong choices on the way to the right one, an alternation of giggles, tears and hugs, and “Because I Said So” plays cautiously by the rules. Directed by Michael Lehmann from a script credited to Karen Leigh Hopkins and Jessie Nelson, it is a mild exercise in deliberate mediocrity, with chuckles and heartwarming moments distributed as carefully as nuts in a factory-made brownie.

The movie’s lack of ambition is hardly surprising, but both Ms. Moore and Ms. Keaton, who can wring flustered comedy out of the mildest provocation, deserve better. They are touching and amusing to watch — Ms. Keaton when she grimaces and flutters her hands, Ms. Moore when she pouts and sighs and rolls her eyes — but there is not much for them to work with here. The story ambles forward without the accelerating complication that good screwball requires, frequently substituting pop-song-accompanied montages for actual dramatic development.

The dialogue yields few memorable jokes, and so the filmmakers fall back on trivial sight gags and bits of physical comedy. Ms. Keaton has several mishaps involving large cakes and a few more that turn on her inability to figure out how to work her computer. A red balloon attaches itself to Ms. Moore’s behind (though the camera seems more interested in Ms. Perabo’s). A gaggle of masseuses chatter in subtitles, proving that when all else fails, Asian women can be used as cheap comic stereotypes. (See also the chest waxer in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and the restaurant owner in “Freaky Friday,” among many other examples.)

All else does not exactly fail in “Because I Said So,” since the movie barely even tries. According to its press materials, “The idea for ‘Because I Said So’ began with a routine dentist appointment.” It has now come full circle.

“Because I Said So” is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). It has sexual references and situations.

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Because I Said So Reviews

Never met a cliché it didn't love or a situation too hackneyed to be inserted into the mix.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jan 31, 2021

I really wanted to like Because I Said So, but ultimately I just felt pity for it.

Full Review | Nov 21, 2019

In the end, while the mixture looks sweet, it goes down decidedly sour.

Full Review | Oct 16, 2018

This movie manages to be offensive and yet dull and predictable, as phony as a Kate Spade sidewalk knock-off bag and as unoriginal as the ready-for VH1 soundtrack.

Full Review | Original Score: F | Dec 9, 2014

Because I Said So seems like it's supposed to be a paean of sorts to motherhood and the enduring love that entails, a love so strong that it inevitably drives its possessor somewhat batty. But what it is, is muddled crap.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Jan 7, 2011

Like steel pins poking through the eyes

Full Review | Aug 28, 2009

The ensuing cycle of miscommunication is endless and trying.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/4 | Apr 23, 2009

There are chick flicks and upchuck flicks. The movie Because I Said So is an upchuck chick flick.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.0/5 | Feb 2, 2009

This is a by-the-book chick flick we're talking about, but the writers and director apparently didn't want to push the envelope when it came to the supporting characters -- or the main characters.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 20, 2008

Because I Said So isn't very funny, and no amount of having Diane Keaton act all post-menopausally zany is going to create the tension that just isn't there.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Aug 22, 2008

A veteran of classic films such as Annie Hall and The Godfather, Diane Keaton should have known better than to sign up for this kind of light and fluffy schmaltz, even if the director promised she would look great in her underwear.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 1, 2007

Full Review | Original Score: C | Aug 1, 2007

It's a lame duck of a film.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | May 4, 2007

A light-weight comedy about mothers and daughters, Because I Said So is a bit like the chocolate soufflés that Mandy Moore's Milly cooks throughout. It's light and fluffy, but on occasions it does not rise to the occasion

Full Review | Apr 28, 2007

each character in the film is so shallow and cold that there's nobody for the audience to cheer on.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Mar 7, 2007

There's more than enough material here to make an enjoyable drama about a mother and her adult daughters. But the writers and director fail on virtually every front.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | Mar 3, 2007

I don't think anyone actually wrote Because I Said So; I think that some Hollywood artificial intelligence think-tank instead fed DVD box sets of The Gilmore Girls and Sex and the City into a computer, along with Pottery Barn catalogs for roughage. ...

Full Review | Original Score: 1/4 | Mar 2, 2007

At 61, Diane Keaton is still doing her ditzy, girlish thing, but the act is getting a little oppressive and rarely more so than in Because I Said So, an indulgent comedy.

Full Review | Feb 24, 2007

[A] better movie might have surfaced if everyone had taken their Ritalin and calmed down.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Feb 21, 2007

I hated this movie. I think it's the worst performance of Diane Keaton's career.

Full Review | Feb 20, 2007

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• DVD & Streaming

Because I Said So

Content caution.

In Theaters

• Diane Keaton as Daphne Wilder; Mandy Moore as Milly Wilder; Gabriel Macht as Johnny; Tom Everett Scott as Jason; Lauren Graham as Maggie; Piper Perabo as Mae; Stephen Collins as Joe

Home Release Date

• Michael Lehmann

Distributor

• Universal Pictures

Movie Review

Single mom Daphne Wilder has spent most of her adult life taking care of her beloved daughters. With two of the three already in relationships, she’s set on finding the perfect guy for her youngest, Milly.

Sounds innocent enough … except that Daphne’s definition of help is everyone else’s definition of meddling . Despite being warned by her daughters to stay out of the matter, the overbearing mom takes things into her own hands by secretly running an Internet personal ad seeking a “life partner” for Milly.

After weeding out a lineup full of dubious and/or deadbeat bachelors, Daphne’s blown away by hunky architect Jason, who comes with a long list of impressive credentials. She’s determined to have her daughter swept off her feet with this eligible catch and sets them up on a “chance encounter.” But Milly’s already found a man of her own: Johnny, a musician whom Daphne’s deemed unfit.

Milly then does exactly what you would have done in a similar situation. She embarks on a two-lane dating highway, seeing both men simultaneously. Jason is her virtual opposite and cramps her style, but he seems too good of a catch to pass up (and Mom’s crazy about him). Johnny doesn’t have the future in the palm of his hands, comes with a rambunctious young son in tow and has a “Mom disapproves” sticker tagged on him. But Milly can’t help but feel like her real self when he’s around. Hmmm. The oh-so-prickly predicaments of mice and movies.

Positive Elements

Underneath her manipulative, intrusive ways, Daphne loves Milly more than anything and wants the best for her. In light of her own failed marriage, she explains her actions to Milly: “I was just trying to protect you from becoming me.” She also poignantly explains that it’s hard for most mothers—particularly single ones who’ve dedicated their lives to their offspring—to know when or how to step aside. “[Motherhood] is the most impossible love,” she says to her daughters. “You tell me where it begins and when it stops.”

Despite Daphne’s hovering over them, the Wilder daughters reciprocate their mother’s purest feelings, and their tight family connection is obvious. Though somewhat misguided, Daphne tells Milly, “I love you enough to tell you the truth,” and then launches into a sermonette about finding fulfillment in life: “Happiness is a series of choices—it doesn’t just happen. One wrong decision can change your life.” Jason apologizes to Milly for losing his temper after she breaks a treasured item. Likewise, Daphne says she’s sorry for interfering so much with Milly’s life.

Spiritual Elements

Upon first meeting Jason, Daphne looks to the heavens and says, “Thank You, dear Lord.” Later, her “prayer” is far less sincere as she yells, “Oh thank You, dear God” in the middle of a bedroom romp with Johnny’s father, Joe. (It’s implied that in this hook-up, she experiences her first orgasm.) She also offers a bit of greeting card “wisdom”: “God couldn’t be everywhere, and that’s why He made mothers.” Milly says that when she gave up hunting for her match, “the universe brought me two great guys.”

Sexual & romantic Content

Director Michael Lehmann (40 Days and 40 Nights) doesn’t for a second hide his targeting of the Cosmo -meets- O fan base in this sex-saturated chick flick. Within the first two minutes the Wilder daughters and their mother launch into a raw discussion about uncircumcised penises, breast shapes and casual sex. It sets the tone for a movie full of properly R-rated banter barely couched in PG-13 language.

We hear about what the female orgasm feels like. What the “Wilder women” record is for orgasms in one night. How loud the sisters are during sex. How a former lover left Milly for another guy. And on and on it goes. Even Johnny’s young son gets in on the ribaldry when he greets Milly with the line, “I have a penis. You have a vagina—can I see it?” He repeats the sentiment later to other women.

As far as visuals go, moviegoers see a series of clothed bedroom “action” scenes (couples kissing passionately and making out) and post-sex shots (bare shoulders showing from under the covers). Milly accidentally walks in on her mother and Joe in bed. (We’re shown part of their tangled legs.) The camera slowly scans each Wilder woman in bra and panties as they disrobe. (One of the girls is wearing a G-string.) Outfits reveal cleavage and midriffs. During a massage in which we see the bare backs of all the women, Milly raises her head and exposes part of her breast.

An “adult friend-finder” Web site yields images of bare-shouldered couples kissing. It also generates sexual groans, moans and whip sounds—which we hear for several minutes in two separate scenes. The ruckus prompt Daphne’s dog to start “humping” a chair and licking the computer screen. Daphne is supposedly appalled when she stumbles onto the site, but she later returns to a similar-looking “sex swingers” site.

A passionate kiss between Milly and Johnny inspires a roomful of older couples to follow suit—including two women.

Violent Content

People fall down, knock things over and end up with cake in their hair. Daphne drives recklessly to catch a glimpse of Milly’s mysterious date, and she nearly runs into another car.

Crude or Profane Language

God’s name is misused more than 50 times (including once in combination with “d–n”). Characters use “a–” and “d–n” in a handful of instances.

Drug and Alcohol Content

Several meals are accompanied by wine or champagne. After a string of unsuccessful interviews with unpromising bachelors, Daphne orders a drink and says she “can’t get through another one without one of these.” A conversation about expensive wines prompts Jason to envision himself and Milly “drinking our way through Tuscany.” Joe offers a “couple drops of brandy” as a remedy for laryngitis.

Other noteworthy Elements

While in a heated conversation with her psychiatrist sister, Maggie, it’s played for laughs when a frustrated Milly tells a chronically “suicidal” patient that his doctor has been blabbing about him for years. She then dares him to jump out of a window (knowing he won’t).

One of the most disturbing parts of Because I Said So is its lighthearted yet still scathing take on “old-fashioned” sexual morals. In this movie everyone’s doing it—and if you’re not, it’s time you did. Milly is “doing the oompah-loompah with two guys at once.” (Johnny and Jason don’t know about each other.) And when Daphne shows the slightest astonishment over this, her daughters essentially mock her for not being OK with it.

Joe, meanwhile, never bats an eye when Johnny and Milly get tangled up in the sheets (even after Johnny’s young son barges in on the pair). He and Daphne go from being acquaintances to bedmates in record time—with the full approval of the daughters.

Most chick flicks leave me staring at the ceiling in either complete boredom or irritation over the clichéd dialogue, sappy storylines and even more predictable endings. There, I’ve said it. Indeed, there have been times I’ve forced my lovely and sentimental wife to listen as I’ve dismantled a romantic comedy, explaining the 101 reasons a Hallmark card writer could’ve penned better lines.

So I’m fully aware that I probably don’t “get” every emotional nuance packed into Because I Said So . I understand there may be jokes that are inherently funnier to daughters, mothers, wives and girlfriends than they are to me. And I can maybe see how Annie Hall, er, Diane Keaton could, for those of the fairer sex, possibly elicit some other reaction than a groan, despite having played the same character for the past two decades.

But in this dysfunctional mother-daughter tale, sex trumps all—character development, storytelling and morality. That’s neither a male nor a female observation. And it has nothing to do with whether I love or hate big-budget tearjerkers. With sexual ethics as loose as a pair of post-diet pants, Because I Said So slickly creates a sordid “girls’ night out” atmosphere by dealing with orgasms, penises, one-night-stands and everything in between with a stubbornly frank (and relativistically postmodern) attitude. Would I be OK with all of that if I was “more sensitive” and cried a little easier? Hardly.

Marcus Yoars

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Because I Said So (2007)

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Because i said so.

A stylishly gooey piece of work that demands to be oohed and aahed over, crowds are likely to be pleased nonetheless, especially women who connect with its pat observations about the mother-daughter bond.

By The Associated Press

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This review was written for the theatrical release of “Because I Said So.” 

Like the architectural-wonder cakes Diane Keaton’s character constructs in “Because I Said So,” the film is a stylishly gooey piece of work that demands to be oohed and aahed over. With its magazine-spread interiors and pretty dresses, this romantic comedy about a meddling mom and her unlucky-in-love youngest daughter might get what it wants. Using a recipe overloaded with adorable, too reliant on slapstick and spiced up with “modern” ideas about sex, the movie is as predictable as a crowd-pleaser can get. But crowds are likely to be pleased nonetheless, especially women who connect with its pat observations about the mother-daughter bond.

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It’s dispiriting to see a great actress like Keaton buying into this nonsense with such gusto. Still, as Daphne, the control-freak cake entrepreneur nearing her 60th birthday, she’s the closest thing to a three-dimensional person in the film. Mandy Moore is an appealing performer, but ultimately she can’t turn Milly, the object of Daphne’s pathological concern, into more than a collection of comely pouts and tantrums.

The script by Karen Leigh Hopkins and Jessie Nelson, two of the writers of 1998’s “Stepmom,” is a compendium of cliches. Chief among these is the montage of comical interviewees — that overused shorthand for L-O-S-E-R that parades across the screen for our condescending enjoyment, a succession of inadequate candidates for a job or a date. In this case, the would-be boyfriends are interviewed not by their potential mate but by her mother. Having placed an online ad, “Mother looking for life partner for daughter” (have more menacing words ever been printed?), Daphne holds court in a hotel lobby bar, driven to drink by the bad and the ugly.

The good arrive, too. Jason (Tom Everett Scott) is an architect — the movie occupation du jour, signaling financially successful and creative — and Daphne couldn’t be more thrilled. There’s also bystander Johnny (Gabriel Macht), a musician working in the bar. He observes Daphne with interest, and for a moment it seems this might turn into a younger man/older woman romance. But against Daphne’s wishes, the faux bohemian guitarist (he wears a fedora and vest) pursues Milly, a caterer with a snorting laugh not unlike Annie Hall’s. After an inventive meet-cute with Johnny involving static cling, Milly finds herself dating both him and Jason.

Who Milly will end up with is as obvious as the contrasts between the two men. Johnny’s the single father of a precocious boy (Ty Panitz), and they live with his single dad (Stephen Collins) in a fashionably cluttered house on the Venice canals. Against all that humanity, Jason lives in minimalist splendor and takes Milly to sleek downtown eateries. The dream-date deck is stacked. When Milly accidentally breaks one of Jason’s family heirlooms, he gets a bit testy, the brute. But Johnny is all hugs and forgiveness after the accident-prone caterer shatters a plate that he probably got on sale at Pier 1.

Still, they’re both decent guys, and what’s a girl to do but sleep with both of them? The film pushes a cheery attitude toward sex, complete with cell-phone conference calls about uncircumcised penises between Daphne, Milly and her two married sisters. The sole characteristic of middle sis Mae (Piper Perabo) is her love of sex. It’s clear from the get-go that Daphne’s sense of urgency over Milly’s love life is really about her own regrets as a single woman, but the script milks the notion for all its cheap, orgasm-centric psychology.

Director Michael Lehmann (“Heathers”), who keeps the story moving if not believable, isn’t above using Daphne’s pet dog for frequent reaction shots. Director of photography Julio Macat showcases L.A. dream locales — not counting a woeful Korean spa scene — while the creations of production designer Sharon Seymour and costume designer Shay Cunliffe have pizzazz but never feel lived-in. David Kitay’s music score aids and abets the script in pushing emotional buttons.

Amongst the cardboard-cutout supporting characters, Lauren Graham brings a welcome deadpan sensibility to the overeager proceedings as oldest sibling Maggie, a wry psychologist.

BECAUSE I SAID SO Universal Pictures A Universal Pictures and Gold Circle Films presentation Credits: Director: Michael Lehmann Screenwriters: Karen Leigh Hopkins, Jessie Nelson Producers: Paul Brooks, Jessie Nelson Executive producers: Scott Niemeyer, Norm Waitt, Michael Flynn Director of photography: Julio Macat Production designer: Sharon Seymour Music: David Kitay Co-producer: Wendy Rhoads Costume designer: Shay Cunliffe Editors: Paul Seydor, Troy Takaki Cast: Daphne: Diane Keaton Milly: Mandy Moore Johnny: Gabriel Macht Jason: Tom Everett Scott Maggie: Lauren Graham Mae: Piper Perabo Joe: Stephen Collins Lionel: Ty Panitz Running time — 101 minutes MPAA rating: PG-13

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Because i said so.

• Common Sense Says
• Parents Say 4 Reviews
• Kids Say 3 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

By Cynthia Fuchs , based on child development research. How do we rate?

Keaton and Moore can't save bland, cliched romcom.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that kids under 14 (even big Mandy Moore fans) probably won't be interested in this flat, unoriginal romantic comedy. The film's humor is based on a very tired stereotype: the aggressively interfering mother. Her interest in her youngest daughter's love life leads to silly jokes,…

Why Age 14+?

Some drinking on social occasions (wine, champagne, brandy).

Mother and daughters appear in underwear in locker room (their bottoms appear in

Reference to Mentos.

Mild language: "ass," "damn it," plus semi-joke about "

Pratfalls (two involving cakes); suggestion that a suicidal patient jumps out a

Any Positive Content?

A mother berates her adult daughter and interferes in her dating life; sisters w

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Mother and daughters appear in underwear in locker room (their bottoms appear in close-up and they discuss thongs), subtitled references to Daphne's need for a "stiff one" and "poofter" Daphne watches porn Web site (sounds are explicit; imagery is not); dog humps stool; reference to "woody" discussion of orgasm (with daughter acting out what it's like for her mother); some cleavage; Daphne worries that an unbuttoned dress shows that her daughter is "asking for it" non-explicit montage of sex scenes (Milly with two men); little boy says "gina" (for vagina) and "penis" kissing/making out between Daphne and Joe, who later appear in bed together.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Mild language: "ass," "damn it," plus semi-joke about "Italian for 'late'" ("retardo") and several sexual innuendoes.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Violence & Scariness

Pratfalls (two involving cakes); suggestion that a suicidal patient jumps out a window (cake falls on the patient's head).

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

A mother berates her adult daughter and interferes in her dating life; sisters withhold information; Milly cheats on both boyfriends; boyfriends are alternately scheming, angry, and possessive.

Parents need to know that kids under 14 (even big Mandy Moore fans) probably won't be interested in this flat, unoriginal romantic comedy. The film's humor is based on a very tired stereotype: the aggressively interfering mother. Her interest in her youngest daughter's love life leads to silly jokes, sexual imagery (women appear in their underwear, some kissing, a brief montage shows one woman with two different partners), and innuendo (including discussion about -- and re-enactment of -- orgasms). Very mild language for PG-13 ("ass," "damn it") and some tame social drinking. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Parent and Kid Reviews

• Parents say (4)
• Kids say (3)

Based on 4 parent reviews

Better than how to deal

Not for kids , what's the story.

Longtime single mother Daphne ( Diane Keaton ) is determined to marry off her three grown daughters, hoping they'll avoid her own loneliness. She is successful with daughters Maggie and Mae, but poor Milly ( Mandy Moore ) just can't seem to find the right guy. When Daphne sets up a series of meetings for Milly with young men she finds through the Internet, the movie resorts to an awkward montage of loser dates. Milly's ideal date, in Daphne's mind, is architect Jason, who seems controlling and possessive -- much like Daphne. But just as Daphne sets up the date, another suitor appears in her daughter's life, lounge guitarist/music teacher Johnny. While it's easy to see which man Milly prefers, she has to grind through repeated scenes in which she argues with Daphne, convinces herself that Jason's OK, and talks over all of her dates and anxieties with her sisters.

Is It Any Good?

Clumsy and bland, BECAUSE I SAID SO sets up one basic joke -- the obnoxious and interfering mother -- and runs it into the ground. Directed by Michael Lehmann in a way that might best be described as "disinterested," Because I Said So includes so many clichés that it's hard to keep count: the bad-driving scenes, the dog reaction shots, the falling-with-cake scenes, the inability-to-work-technology scenes (Daphne pulls up a porn site on her computer and can't turn it off), and even the watching-old-movies scenes. This last is especially egregious and self-defeating -- since Daphne's a Gary Cooper fan, the classic films she watches make this one seem even worse by comparison.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about romantic comedies. How is this movie like other romantic comedies you've seen? Why do movies in this genre tend to follow the same pattern? Can you think of any examples of obvious "romantic comedy" elements (i.e. making Milly's boyfriends so different that her choice seems obvious to viewers)? Families can also talk about overbearing parents. How can suggestions that are intended to be helpful end up hurting the person they're directed at? Besides criticizing them, how else could Daphne encourage her daughters?

Movie Details

• In theaters : February 1, 2007
• On DVD or streaming : May 8, 2007
• Cast : Diane Keaton , Lauren Graham , Mandy Moore
• Director : Michael Lehmann
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Universal Pictures
• Genre : Comedy
• Run time : 102 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : sexual content including dialogue, some mature thematic material and partial nudity.
• Last updated : April 4, 2023

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Because I Said So Review

16 Feb 2007

101 minutes

Because I Said So

A well-meaning mother attempts to control her daughters’ lives in this so-so romantic comedy. While two are successfully married off, Milly (Moore) remains on the market, so mother Daphne (Keaton) secretly interviews potential suitors. Two handsome men arise in the process and Milly begins dating both, unable to decide between a blatant rotter (Tom Everett Scott) and an evident saint (Gabriel Macht).

Milly is attractive but paper-thin, so Keaton’s Daphne is the real heroine, a few touching scenes hinting at the loneliness of single motherhood. This isn’t sharp enough to be a strong drama, though, and it’s not very funny, so the end result is decidedly average.

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Because I Said So (2007)

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She's just your normal, overprotective, overbearing, over-the-top mother.

In an effort to prevent family history from repeating itself, meddlesome mom Daphne Wilder attempts to set up her youngest daughter, Milly, with Mr. Right. Meanwhile, her other daughters try to keep their mom's good intentions under control.

Michael Lehmann

Karen Leigh Hopkins

Jessie Nelson

Top Billed Cast

Diane Keaton

Mandy Moore

Gabriel Macht

Tom Everett Scott

Lauren Graham

Piper Perabo

Stephen Collins

Matt Champagne

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We don't have any reviews for Because I Said So.

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Status Released

Original Language English

Revenue $69,485,490.00

• sibling relationship
• parent child relationship
• mother role
• lonely hearts ad
• los angeles, california
• single father
• mother daughter relationship

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Because I Said So (United States, 2007)

Because I Said So is a made-to-order romantic comedy of the type "B" variety (that's the one where the heroine is torn between the socially and financially "ideal" guy and the one who really makes her happy). As I have previously written, a formulaic approach is not always a bad thing in a romantic comedy provided the screenplay shows moderate intelligence, the characters are appealing, and there's chemistry between the leads. Fortunately, Because I Said So satisfies these criteria. So, despite being rooted firmly in "chick flick" territory (with a high "cuteness" index), it has the capacity to please to viewers of both genders who appreciate the genre.

The movie starts with a premise that's in Santa Claus territory. Mandy Moore plays Milly, a beautiful, desirable young woman who also happens to be a fantastic cook but who can't find Mr. Right. Like Santa Claus, this person exists only in fantasy since there is no way someone as smart and alluring as Milly is going to be starved for meaningful companionship. However, that's what suspension of disbelief is all about. So I'll give the filmmakers a pass, especially considering that Moore is attractive and appealing and probably more enjoyable to watch than someone who might do a better job filling the part "realistically."

Milly's sisters, Maggie (Lauren Graham) and Mae (Piper Perabo), are happily married and her mother, Daphne (Diane Keaton), is beginning to despair that her third daughter will never find a mate. So, in the best tradition of the Meddling Motion Picture Mother (MMPM), she decides to take matters into her own hands. She runs an Internet classified ad seeking a "life mate" for her daughter then screens the candidates. She finds a clear winner - successful architect Jason (Tom Everett Scott) - and contrives for him to meet Milly. The meeting is successful and they start dating. At the same time, Milly encounters musician Johnny (Gabriel Macht) - who also met Daphne but was found wanting - and begins a relationship with him. She is soon involved with both men and can't figure out how to disentangle herself from either relationship. Jason is the better catch but Milly can be more herself around Johnny.

Because I Said So incorporates a few elements that are not typically given prominence in a standard romantic comedy, the most obvious of which is the MMPM character. Diane Keaton gives depth to what is essentially a stereotype, and this allows her scenes with Moore to have substance. Keaton plays some scenes for laughs (such as when she accidentally logs onto a porn site and can't figure out how to turn down the computer's volume) but there are other times when she illustrates a truth about mother/daughter relationships. The sequence in which Daphne asks her daughter what an orgasm feels like is both funny and touching because there's honesty in the way both Keaton and Moore play it. I also appreciated the sister/sister scenes, although there are too few of them. Both Lauren Graham and Piper Perabo are underused. Milly's two suitors are what they're supposed to be. Although Tom Everett Scott's buttoned-down Jason is destined to lose out, the film doesn't turn him into a villain. As Johnny, Gabriel Macht represents the ideal: sexy, adventurous, a little bohemian, and capable of vulnerability. Meanwhile, Stephen Collins playing Johnny's dad) shows up to allow Daphne to enjoy a little romance of her own.

Based on her performance here, Mandy Moore should do more romantic comedies. This is a genre in which she shines. Given the right male lead and a strong female co-star or two, it's hard to see her appearing in many misses. She has a star quality that has largely been squandered in past efforts. The screenplay for Because I Said So may be short on invention but it is large on heart. It also doesn't overplay the humor. There are would-be funny sequences that don't work (such as the overused montage in which Daphne interviews a bunch of weird dates for her daughter or the scene where Maggie tries to get rid of a suicidal client), but there are enough genuine laughs to keep the material light.

The director is Michael Lehmann, who has strayed far from the cutting edge where he began his career. The man who made the corrosive black comedy Heathers has moved toward the mainstream. At least Because I Said So is an improvement over his previous backfire, 40 Days and 40 Nights . This time, Lehmann has a stronger script and a better cast. Few actresses have aged with grace the way Diane Keaton has and even fewer are capable of playing romantic leads at age 60. It's a testimony to Keaton's appeal that audiences accept her in this role and, while the part isn't as fully developed as in Something's Gotta Give , her presence enriches the proceedings. Because I Said So will work for those it targets and is a pleasant reminder that not all February movies are unbearable.

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Because I Said So

There are probably hundreds of different ways people define a chick-flick, but I’ve discovered a movie that I would use as a new standard to which all such movies should be compared. Overbearing mothers…supportive sisters…worthless, runaway fathers... excessive furniture moving... an irrational need to have a phone conversation in the middle of a date... chocolate soufflé... it has everything I imagine such a movie would need and then some. The problem is that cramming all those chick-flick elements into a single film has pushed out a lot of the stuff that helps make a movie enjoyable to watch.

Daphne Wilder ( Diane Keaton ) is the kind of doting, interfering, emotionally addicted woman who would have crafted the ultimate momma’s boy. However, as fate would have it, she only produced three daughters before her husband fled the scene. The older daughters, level headed psychiatrist Maggie (Laura Graham) and fun loving Mae (Piper Perabo) both managed to find their perfect man and wind up happily married. The youngest, Milly ( Mandy Moore ), hasn’t had such good fortune, unwittingly stumbling into one deadbeat heartbreaker after another. Daphne is bound and determined to find the man she thinks would be best for Milly, even if it means taking out a personal ad and screening each individual applicant herself.

The manhunt turns up copious candidates, but only one passes muster: Jason (Tom Everett Scott), the financially successful but essentially soulless architect. Daphne makes the match, but much to her dismay Milly falls for another guy at the exact same time, the sweet, free spirited single father, Johnny (Gabriel Macht). Milly is pinned to both men, on the one side by her heart and on the other side by her mother. Both guys are painfully stereotypical, but that seems to be intentional. Heaven forbid anything take the spotlight off of the ladies.

Once the scene is set the movie wallows around in one-dimensional character interactions occasionally interrupted by over-the-top physical gags. For example, in one scene Daphne and her daughters discuss their underwear preferences and Milly’s man problems while changing clothes before heading into a spa. Moments later a Korean masseuse jumps up on Daphne’s back and, despite her flailing protestations, begins bending her like a pretzel in an effort to get her to loosen up.

Don’t even get me started on Daphne’s bad fortune of twice having her daughters call her on the phone just after her computer gets stuck on a porn site while she’s trying to find an online matchmaking service. And then there’s the fact that the family can’t make it through a wedding without someone sneaking off to have sex or the way in which the women all seem to relate to each other by exchanging pastries. The movie might just as well have been called Life As A Cake .

About two-thirds of the way through, Because I Said So takes a bizarre twist when Daphne has an all too convenient encounter with Johnny’s father, Joe (Stephen Collins). Swept off her feet, Daphne finally finds someone who can help her realize the error of her interfering ways. While cute in a “you can find love later in life” sort of way, it has the creepy side effect of making Milly and Johnny step-brother and sister. Of course, that doesn’t stand in their way. This is a chick-flick, and the ending is just as predictable as you’d expect.

For all the movie’s failings, you can’t fault the cast. The actors all have the ability to play the roles, but there’s little they can do to overcome the triteness of the script. Diane Keaton, who has made these sorts of extreme matriarchal roles a staple of her career, tries her best to breathe life into the flatly written Daphne. Mandy Moore proves yet again that she has the chops to play a solid leading character even if she can’t get through the movie without a musical number or two. Stephen Collins and Gabriel Macht are the perfect sensitive male father/son team, knowing how to tame their women’s wild hearts while not being afraid to get a little teary eyed in front of them. .

Too silly to be a romantic comedy, Because I Said So is a full blown comic estrogen-fest that gets so caught up in trying to be funny while identifying with the hazards of female familial interpersonal relationships that it almost forgets other important little details like plot and character development. Moment to moment the comedic bits and semi-dramatic scenes work well enough, but strung together into a single film they end up as a flimsy, pseudo-emotional mess.

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Because I Said So Reviews

• 26   Metascore
• 1 hr 42 mins
• Drama, Comedy
• Watchlist Where to Watch

Oscar-winner Diane Keaton teams up with rising star Mandy Moore in this charming romantic comedy about an overprotective mom whose plan to find the perfect man for her youngest daughter backfires. Gabriel Macht, Tom Everett Scott, Lauren Graham, Piper Perabo.

What was Diane Keaton thinking when she signed on to play a shrill, off-putting mother whose unbelievable, over-the-top antics are utterly annoying to watch? Even the title is annoying. Single mom Daphne Wilder (Keaton) wants nothing more for her three daughters than to see them happy, which in her mind means married and settled down. While her older girls, sensible psychiatrist Maggie (Lauren Graham) and wild-child Mae (Piper Perabo), have met their matches, free-spirited Milly (Mandy Moore) has yet to meet a man who truly gets her. Clumsy and laid-back, Milly is also charming and more like her mother than she'd care to admit. She's a magnet for heartbreakers and unsuitable men, and drives away professional types with her obnoxious laugh. Determined to find the perfect fella for her problem child, Daphne places an enticing online personal and arranges to vet the potential suitors at a fancy hotel. Jazz musician Johnny (Gabriel Macht) notices that she's interviewing a parade of unqualified candidates and wants to toss his hat in the ring, but his tattoo and bad-boy image disqualify him. She instead chooses wealthy, well-dressed architect Jason (Tom Everett Scott), and together they cook up a plan to trick Milly into going on a date. Meanwhile, Johnny has secretly discovered where Milly works and piques her interest by laughing at her clumsy, static-filled encounter with a balloon. Milly begins dating both guys but can't relax with sleek, assertive Jason, whom meddling Daphne insists that she keep dating anyway. Director Michael Lehmann knows his way around romantic comedies (his credits include 40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS and THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS AND DOGS) but stumbles badly here, starting with the fact that the film brings together four strong lead actresses yet fails to play to their strengths. Keaton is wonderful when she's being cute and neurotic, but overbearing and grating don't suit her. Moore does her best, but the film goes out of its way to work in a scene with her singing; she's a good enough actress that there's no need to haul out her musical abilities when they have no bearing on the plot. Graham (of TV's Gilmore Girls) has a few entertaining scenes with a patient named Stuart (Tony Hale), but the fact is, he doesn't seem much crazier than Daphne. Overall, Graham and Perabo have so little to do that it's hard to imagine why Maggie has three daughters instead of one; they just clutter up her screen time. As to Perabo, she seems to exist for the sole purpose of making risque remarks, and the family dog has more memorable moments.

Because I Said So (2007)

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Daphne Wilder (DIANE KEATON, Something's Gotta Give, The Family Stone, The Godfather trilogy) is a mother whose love knows no bounds or boundaries. As a single parent, she has raised three fantastic girls -- klutzy, adorable Milly (MANDY MOORE, A Walk to Remember, Saved!, upcoming License to Wed), stable psychologist Maggie (LAUREN GRAHAM, television's Gilmore Girls, upcoming Evan Almighty) and sexy and irreverent Mae (PIPER PERABO, The Prestige, Coyote Ugly) -- to become the kind of women any mom would die to have. The only problem is...they're just about ready to strangle her. In a comedy that explores when it's finally time to cut the apron strings, director MICHAEL LEHMANN (The Truth About Cats & Dogs, 40 Days and 40 Nights, Heathers) brings four powerhouse actresses together in one film -- Because I Said So. In order to prevent her youngest, Milly, from making the same romantic mistakes she did, Daphne decides to set her up with the perfect man. The one thing Daphne decides not to tell Milly, however, is that she placed an ad in the online personals to find him. If anyone knows exactly what her daughter does and doesn't need out of a long-term relationship (or clothes or her career), it's Daphne. Comic mayhem unfolds as the well-intended mom continues to do the wrong thing for the right reasons...all in the name of love for her beloved daughter. Is the man of Daphne's (erm, Milly's) dreams the responsible architect Jason (TOM EVERETT SCOTT, television's Saved, One True Thing), or is he the free-spirited rocker Johnny (GABRIEL MACHT, The Good Shepherd, The Recruit)? Daphne will continue to push, cajole, suggest and nudge her way into Milly's smallest of decisions until she rights the wrongs of her own life choices or drives her girls nuts. But once Johnny's own father, Joe (STEPHEN COLLINS, Blood Diamond, television's 7th Heaven), catches a buried spark within Daphne, things really start to heat up for the Wilder matriarch. Finally letting herself begin to fall, Daphne begins to wonder if she is just pushing her girls as a way of ignoring her own issues. In a hilarious battle of strong wills, the mother-daughter dynamic is tested in all its fierce, wacky complexity. Now, the girls will try their best to help Daphne finally discover the truths and impossibilities of motherly love...all while trying to answer the questions: where does it begin and where should it end?

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Mandy moore talks because i said so.

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Because I Said So (2007)

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BECAUSE I SAID SO

"controlling mother and out-of-control promiscuity".

What You Need To Know:

(RoRo, PaPa, C, FR, Ho, LL, V, SS, NN, AA, MMM) Strong Romantic worldview that extols passion over reason and makes “love” the pinnacle of the human experience with immoral pagan elements as the promiscuous pursuit of love is the definition and height of that Romantic experience, some light religious elements include Christian reference as woman prays, “Thank you, dear Lord,” and a reference to eastern religion and Zen, plus brief homosexual element as young woman says that she found out her boyfriend was sleeping with her ex-boyfriend, and two elderly women kiss and one quick shot of a transvestite; three obscenities and at least 21 profanities (most of which are light exclamations such as, “oh, God,” “my God,” etc.); one scene of comedic violence where masseuse stands on a woman, wrestles with her and cracks her back; extensive sexual content includes graphic sexual dialogue between a mother and her three daughters throughout the entire movie (MOVIEGUIDE® does not need to elaborate), several scenes implied fornication with the before and after shown as one young woman is even carrying on two promiscuous relationships at the same time, one scene of depicted fornication, although nothing is shown, several scenes of unmarried and passionate kissing, and implied sex between a married couple, mother accidentally clicks on pornographic website, which causes her dog to start humping the ottoman, but woman later goes back to watch the pornographic website, little boy asks woman to show him her genitals (although he uses a different name); nudity includes scene where daughters and mothers are in their bras and panties before getting group massages, women’s backs are shown on the massage tables, another shot of a woman in a bra, several shots of cleavage, upper shoulders and backs seen in pre-fornication and one woman’s midriff is seen; alcohol use includes multiple scenes where alcohol (from wine with dinner to champagne, to beer to strong liquor) is consumed in mostly social settings, although no drunkenness is depicted; no drugs or cigarettes; and, strong miscellaneous immorality includes promiscuous relationships between several characters, overbearing mother, and characters lie and deceive each other.

More Detail:

BECAUSE I SAID SO is a re-hashed romantic comedy about Daphne Wilder (Diane Keaton), an overbearing and meddlesome mother, who tries to set up her youngest daughter, Milly (Mandy Moore), with the right man so that Milly won’t end up alone like her.

Daphne’s older daughters, Maggie (Lauren Graham) & Mae (Piper Perabo), have both settled down with the right men. However, Milly still does not seem able to find somebody who is not sane, single or straight. So Daphne, who is often told by her daughters that she is hovering a little too closely in their personal lives, decides to find the right man for her daughter by posting a personal ad on a dating website. She then proceeds to hold interviews with each of the prospective suitors so that she can play matchmaker for Milly, and all without Milly’s knowledge!

Then, two men come calling; one of who is the suave and debonair architect Jason (Tom Everett Scott), which Daphne thinks is perfect for her daughter. The other, which Daphne is not so fond of, is Johnny (Gabriel Macht), a salt-of-the-earth musician. As misunderstandings and comedy ensue, Milly must navigate her way through the two relationships in order to find the man of her dreams, while re-defining her adult relationship with her overbearing mother.

BECAUSE I SAID SO is a slice-of-life romantic comedy. It boasts a terrific cast with well-thought, three-dimensional characters as well as good directing and some genuine, laugh-out-loud comedy. However, the movie is rather formulaic and predictable in its plotting. Thus, within the first few minutes of the story, most viewers will know exactly how it will end.

The movie also contains much too much sexual content! From overly graphic descriptions and discussions of sexual situations to implied and depicted fornication, BECAUSE I SAID SO illustrates all too clearly how “love” in our culture has been re-defined by sex. The movie’s strong Romantic worldview with its emphasis on our culture’s sexual definition of “love,” as well as the promiscuity and illicit relationships, are excessive, and MOVIEGUIDE® advises media-wise people to avoid it and spend their time in more worthy pursuits.

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Because I Said So (2007)

Submitted by mary c.

Daphne (Diane Keaton) puts out an ad and interviews men for her daughter Milly (Mandy Moore), finally settling on Jason (Tom Everett Scott). Jason meets Milly (who does not know about the ad) and they start dating. Single father Johnny (Gabriel Macht) does not pass the test when he chats with Daphne (he does not know about the ad), but he gets Milly’s business card and meets her and they also begin dating.

When Milly finds out about the ad, she breaks up with Jason who she was only dating because he was the type of person Daphne would approve of. She and her mother stop talking. Johnny breaks up with her when he realizes she has been dating someone else the whole time. Daphne meanwhile begins a relationship with Johnny’s father Joe (Stephen Collins).

In the end, mother and daughter make up, as do Johnny and Milly, and Joe and Daphne get married.

• Actor: Diane Keaton , Gabriel Macht , Mandy Moore , Tom Everett Scott
• Director: Michael Lehmann
• Genre: Comedy , Romance