Movie Review: Because I Said So

By Cynthia Fuchs

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What Parents Should 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, 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.

Families can discuss 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?

Common Sense Media Review
Clumsy and bland, BECAUSE I SAID SO sets up one basic joke -- the obnoxious and interfering mother -- and runs it into the ground. Longtime single mother Daphne ( Diane Keaton) is determined to marry off her three grown-up daughters, hoping they'll avoid her own loneliness. The movie's opening scenes show her successes with Maggie ( Lauren Graham) and Mae ( Piper Perabo) as they appear with cakes, white dresses, and grooms. But poor Milly ( Mandy Moore) just can't seem to find the right guy.

The film suggests that the main reason Milly's still single is because Daphne's so pushy. She makes Milly self-conscious, worrying about her daughter's outfits, mannerisms, and snorty laugh. The truth -- indicated by a heavy-handed montage -- is that Milly and her mom are very much alike: They're both caterers with a fondness for cake, they both eat pasta and drink red wine alone each night, and they both believe it's their own fault that they're unmarried.

When Daphne sets up a series of meetings for Milly with young men she finds through the Internet, the movie again resorts to an awkward montage. The loser "dates" range from guys who sport tattoos, a dress, and a turban (this last is an especially unfunny marker of unsuitability) to those who describe their medical conditions in detail or announce their "woodies."

Milly's ideal date, in Daphne's mind, is architect Jason (Tom Everett Scott), 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 (Gabriel Macht). While it's easy to see which man Milly prefers -- especially when Johnny reveals that he's the doting single father of a cute (if obnoxious) little boy -- 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.

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.

For a similarly themed movie, try Monster-In-Law . Or revisit Keaton's less-embarrassing performance in Something's Gotta Give . And for a real classic, see any of the Gary Cooper films referenced here, including Love in the Afternoon, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town .