¡Porque Lo Digo Yo!

"Because I Said So" is one of those types of movies. Yes, one of THOSE types. They keep being made because it seems that the genre of woman-centered dramedies that often blend into one another make for great date movies. Supposedly. Or at least because they continue to say so in all the woman's magazines at the grocery store check-out line.

This one stars Diane Keaton, who has been in one too many of these over the years, Lauren Graham, who has seen better writing on her series "Gilmore Girls", Piper Perabo, whose career tends to float under the radar, and Mandy Moore, whose range is limited but whose charm seems endless. The latter three star as sisters with a ridiculously over-involved mother (Keaton), who go through ups and downs, weddings, and such, while mom pokes her nose too deeply into Moore's love life. It sometimes feels like the confession section of "Cosmo" magazine crossed with the advice column. The answer (read, the ending) is visible from the get-go, and getting there leads to frequent rolling of one's eyes.

This is silly, light and fluffy comedy with little on its mind but the predictable happy ending. It's an okay way to pass the time, but expect to feel guilty in the morning.

The bad thing about this movie is that it's nothing the audience hasn't seen before. Lots of directors choose a generic montage of old-fashioned family pictures set to a mellow thematically-charged song for the opening credits. Lots of romantic comedies include generous dosages of overbearing parents, predictable twists-and-turns, and decor that looks like it came out of the Ikia catalog.

Nonetheless, 'Because I Said So' is, for lack of a better word, cute. It's predictable in a way that one expects the characters in slasher movies to die, corny in a way that only overbearing mothers meddling in the affairs of their offspring can be. And yet, isn't that the reason this genre continues to be popular, BECAUSE of the comfort of knowing what's going to happen rather than in spite of it? Nobody went to see "Bridget Jones' Diary" expecting her NOT to end up with somebody, after all.

Predictability aside, the music was fitting, the scenery was attractive - one wonders if somebody on the set was a gifted cake decorator before the film's inception, or even because of it - and the main/supporting cast were all passable-to-energized. Diane Keaton in all of her poof skirts and unnecessarily large heels, is just enough playful and neurotic to make the role work - I particularly enjoyed her speech about motherhood being the most difficult form of love. I've enjoyed Mandy Moore's rise to indie film infamy since "Saved!", more than I did her semi-generic pop starlet days, and I thought she did a nice job here. And though this is largely considered a "chick flick", I do want to point out that any boyfriends, brothers, husbands, etc. who get roped into seeing it may well enjoy the antics of Keaton's character's dog, who provides slap-sticky yet appreciated comic relief.

All in all, it's not something I'd probably buy on DVD, but as a fun and easy way to spend two hours, 'Because I Said So' is worth wading through the clichés.

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.

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.

Daphne Wilder (Diane Keaton) happily marries off her two older daughters, Maggie (Lauren Graham) and Mae (Piper Perabo). Sadly her romantically-challenged youngest daughter Milly (Mandy Moore) is giving up. Daphne takes matters into her own hands and interviews men from the internet. She decides on entrepreneur Jason (Tom Everett Scott) and schemes to get them together. Musician Johnny (Gabriel Macht) witnesses the interviews and sets off to meet her himself. Milly ends up dating both men.

This is rather disappointing. I love every one of these actresses. The movie piles on a bunch of rom-com stuff. Bits of it seems fine but most of this is bad. It is bad writing. Keaton is doing some silly slapstick stuff. Moore is rather bland. Perabo doesn't get much screen time. Graham has some limited fun with Tony Hale. The two guys are pretty and possibly in the wrong roles. Macht can play the hard driven businessman better and Scott is the more artistic type. It's a lot of useless fluff that don't come together substantively.