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.
Comment
03/03/07
Because I Said So (2007)
5 %
Reviews Counted: 148 Fresh: 8 Rotten:140 Average Rating: 3.2/10
Consensus:
Because I Said So is an unfunny, cliche-ridden mess that manages to make Diane Keaton temporarily unlikable. Manipulative, overly reliant on caricatures, and lacking a shred of human insight, this is one of 2007’s most misbegotten films.
Rated: 12A
Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins
Theatrical Release: 16-02-2007
Synopsis: Diane Keaton lights up the screen as an overbearing, matchmaking single mother in this slightly offbeat romantic comedy from director Michael Lehmann (HEATHERS, THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS AND DOGS). The film is a lot of fun, with both Keaton and Mandy Moore delivering energetic performances as a... [More]
Genre: Comedies
Starring: Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore, Piper Perabo, Tom Everett Scott, Neil Hopkins
Reviews
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.
02/24/07
As well as providing lifestyle porn, the many scenes set in stylish kitchens mean there is usually a cake on hand for somebody to be splattered with. That’s the level of the bland attempts at comedy.
02/19/07
Top Critic
At one point Daphne warns Milly, "You're going to end up like some pathetic character in a Tennessee Williams play." If ever a film could have used a character from a Tennessee Williams play, it's this one.
02/16/07
There's a special circle of hell reserved for whoever thought up the moment where Macht tells Moore she smells like "cake batter".
02/16/07
Top Critic
If there’s a worse screenplay in 2007 than this offering from Karen Leigh Hopkins and Jessie Nelson, it’ll be written in crayon.
02/16/07
A bit like the 'Friends' episode in which Phoebe has to choose between two men, only with Diane Keaton, and fewer laughs.
02/16/07
Top Critic
A shocking embarrassment for all concerned, this is a badly written, badly acted and poorly directed mess from start to finish.
02/15/07
It scores occasionally, mainly thanks to Keaton’s performance, but heavy-handed dollops of schmaltz mean that it remains in the aforementioned mediocre territory.
02/14/07
Top Critic
If you’re a mother or a daughter some of it may resonate, but how apt that this painful, toothless farce was originally dreamt up at the dentist...
02/14/07
A bog standard all-girls-together comedy with a decent cast and less impressive characters.
02/14/07
Top Critic
Towards the end, the spectacle of Milly faking an orgasm for her mother's edification is, frankly, enough to kill anyone's hopes of romance.
02/13/07
Top CriticClick to read the article
05/04/07
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
04/28/07
each character in the film is so shallow and cold that there’s nobody for the audience to cheer on.
03/07/07
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. ...
03/02/07
[A] better movie might have surfaced if everyone had taken their Ritalin and calmed down.
02/21/07
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