A predictable, strident and unfunny mass of clichés.
Because I Said So (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:154
Fresh:8
Rotten:146
Average Rating:3.2/10
Consensus: Overly reliant on caricatures and lacking any human insight, Because I Said So is an unfunny, cliche-ridden mess.
Rated: 12A [See Full Rating] for sexual content including dialogue, some mature thematic material and partial nudity
Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:16-02-2007
Synopsis: Powerhouse actresses Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore, Lauren Graham and Piper Perabo serve up the laughs when they join wickedly funny director Michael Lehmann (The Truth About Cats & Dogs, 40 Days and... Powerhouse actresses Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore, Lauren Graham and Piper Perabo serve up the laughs when they join wickedly funny director Michael Lehmann (The Truth About Cats & Dogs, 40 Days and 40 Nights, Heathers) in his new film about cutting the apron strings, Because I Said So. Keaton stars as Daphne Wilder, a mother whose love knows no bounds or boundaries. She is the proud mom of three daughters: stable psychologist Maggie (Graham), sexy and irreverent Mae (Perabo) and insecure, adorable Milly (Moore)-who, when it comes to men, is like psychotic flypaper. In order to prevent her youngest from making the same mistakes she did, Daphne decides to set Milly up with the perfect man. Little does Milly know, however, that her mom placed an ad in the online personals to find him. Comic mayhem unfolds as Daphne continues to do the wrong thing for the right reasons...all in the name of love. In a hilarious battle of strong wills, the mother-daughter dynamic is tested in all its fierce, wacky complexity. The girls 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? --© Universal Pictures [More]
Starring: Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore, Piper Perabo, Tom Everett Scott
Starring: Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore, Piper Perabo, Tom Everett Scott, Neil Hopkins, Lauren Graham, Stephen Collins, Tony Hale, Gabriel Macht, Ty Panitz
Director: Michael Lehmann
Director: Michael Lehmann
Screenwriter: Jessie Nelson, Karen Leigh Hopkins
Producer: Paul Brooks
Studio: Universal Pictures
Reviews for Because I Said So
Keaton capably pulls off even the silliest slapstick... (but) practically everything in 'Because' is spelled out in the simplest terms, set in bold typeface and then marked with a highlighter pen, lest we miss the meaning.
Because I Said So is an exercise in deliberate mediocrity, with chuckles and heartwarming moments distributed as carefully as nuts in a factory-made brownie.
this film is like Kevin Federline at the guidance counselor's office - it just has no direction
Because ends up a joyless, patronizing, and obnoxious 100-minute-long commercial for matricide.
You get what you expect with some funny scenes, a couple of make-you-weep scenes and plenty of female bonding.
...Keaton [delivers] a painfully over-the-top, tic-ridden performance...
Are there not... Two points in the adventure of the diver: 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.
Apparently retrieved from a dumpster, labeled "Rejected Sitcom Brain Farts," at the Universal back lot and Scotch-taped back together, the screenplay can only be described as a crime against moviegoers worldwide.
If these are the only kinds of roles we can conceive for actresses who have grown into their faces, as Keaton has, it's no wonder so many younger performers are seeking the knife.
A depressing example of what passes for a 'woman's picture' in a not exactly woman-friendly media era.
It's barely February, but it's hard to imagine how the movie year could possibly produce a more annoyingly stupid movie.
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