Minha Mãe quer que Eu Case

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.

"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.

Diane Keaton wants her daughters to do things "Because I Said So" in this 2007 movie.

Keaton is a neurotic mother who is constantly poking her nose into her daughters' lives. She is desperate for her youngest (Mandy Moore) to find a man to spend the rest of her life with, so she puts an ad on a dating site and interviews potential men. Yeah, that certainly is a way to find a life partner for your daughter - advertise and then screen them for her.

One of the problems for me in this movie was Diane Keaton's performance. Here is an excellent, wonderful actress, capable of so much, playing the most annoying woman in history. If she were my mother, she'd have been dead long before her "big birthday" - 60. I don't know what the director was thinking having her go so over the top like that.

Not to mention, this film had Lifetime written all over it. How the producers got movie people to participate in this is to their credit, though it's done all the time - a TV script put on the big screen because someone with clout gets a movie star to agree to it. We saw it in "Before and After," "Six Days and Seven Nights," "What Lies Beneath," that movie with Hugh Jackman and Ashley Judd that I saw in the theater and blocked out of my mind - all TV fare turned into bad movies and starring big people.

I guess you can tell I didn't like it. I very rarely hate anything. If you've read some of my other reviews and find you agree with me on a lot of films, when you see this one is coming on TV, run; if you are tempted to put it on your Netflix list, don't do it.

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.

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.