Von Frau zu Frau

It's easy to understand why this movie is badly reviewed by critics and so well received by audiences. Diane Keaton starts in her most Keaton of all as the single mother of three daughters. Two of which are taken and one of which is single. She's of course constantly meddling in their lives and trying to set up her single daughter whose a chef played by a ridiculously charming Mandy Moore. She posts a single ad for her unknowing daughter which draws two suitors for different reasons and complicates things. Piper Perabo, Lauren Graham, a hunky Gabriel Macht and sexy Tom Everett Scott also star. The movie is chaotic and definitely resembles it's manic, overbearing lead character. But the relationship feels genuine and the movie is heartfelt and engaging. There's no doubt that it's a bit unfocused but it's also undeniably charming and relatable to most of us.

In "Because I Said So" Diane Keaton plays an overprotective mother, Daphne, to Millie (Mandy Moore). The other daughters, Lauren Graham and Piper Perabo, are married so their lives are OK, but Millie doesn't have a man, so her life is empty, or so says Keaton. The main problem with this movie is that Keaton plays the overprotective mother very over the top, and it's just not that funny.

The sisters all have their own charm, although Perabo is underused. And the parade of men that come in and out of their lives are all very handsome. I particularly enjoyed the contrasts between the man Daphne chose for Millie (Jason, Tom Everett Scott) and the man that Millie chose for herself (Johnny, Gabriel Macht).

If they had chosen to follow more of a romantic drama route and explored all the different relationships, this film would have been significantly better. But as a comedy, "Because I Said So" is overblown and not funny.

I love Diane Keaton, but this was mostly painful. I can only point a finger at the writing because as predictable as this movie is, there are some absolute gems of BRILLIANT acting from both Keaton and Moore. I'm not sure why anyone is in this movie other than Mandy Moore and Diane Keaton because no use is made of them. I sat for the first half hour wondering what any of these actors saw in the script, but I will admit to laughing out loud several times at the painful "family" moments I think people will recognize from their own lives. Diane Keaton deserves a better script for her talents. And when TV actors are trying to transition to film, they should raise the level of their work.

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.

At a pre-screening and Q&A with Director Michael Lehmann and writer Karen Leigh Hopkins hosted by critic Leonard Maltin, the soon to be released film opened with mixed reactions before the 365 member audience of USC film students. The narrative gets off to a slow start with on opening sequence that fails to arouse much interest or laughter. Only until a joke is shared between Millie (Moore) and her mother (Keaton) about a man's uncircumcised entity does the audience begin laughing. This is fairly representative of the movie's humor. It is consistently funny, but only through cheap and superficial jokes and scenarios. At times it even verges on slapstick. However, credit must be given to both Moore and Keaton who put out stellar performances. Moore proves her ability to be an actress following initial debut in Saved and will hopefully be able to move past her image as teenie-bopper musician. Keaton convincingly portrays an over the top single mother who cannot keep her nose out of her daughters' business. The film will have wide appeal for female audiences as it is about the mother-daughter relationship. But men will also find humor throughout and should not be discouraged to accompany their wives and girlfriends. (Note: Guys, this is a good chance to compromise on seeing a romantic comedy that will not bore or disgust.) The film sticks to genre conventions but the comedy aspect of the film veers from typical. The set design and editing are both noteworthy. The film will provide a fun evening for couples, old and young, at the theater and home.