The Clarion

Issue date: 2/20/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Media Credit: courtesy of Universal Pictures [Click to enlarge]

I enjoy a good chick flick just like any other girl, but watching "Because I Said So" was purely painful.

With a seemingly promising cast of Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore, Piper Perabo and Lauren Graham, there should have been some good acting, some good laughs, and maybe a good cry, which are the rewards of a watching a good romantic comedy. I was disappointed.

The movie follows the mother-daughter relationship of Millie (Mandy Moore) and her mother Daphne (Diane Keaton).

However, even the most homesick college freshman will find this mother-daughter chemistry a bit annoying and nothing remotely similar to any family experience normal families have.

Since when do mothers ask daughters what an orgasm feels like? Isn't it the other way around? Shouldn't mothers know, or at least pretend to know, such things?

In the movie, Keaton, for lack of a life of her own, stalks her daughter, pestering her about finding the right man. As a single mother, Keaton is embarrassingly manipulative, creating a long-winded want ad in hopes of finding the perfect husband for her daughter.

Keaton interviews a bunch of loser candidates until she meets (big shocker!) a Mr. Perfect - good looking, charming, and most importantly, wealthy.

Surprise, surprise - Mr. Perfect turns out to be an ass.

The audience knows that the hapless good-looking musician, played by Gabriel Macht, will be the man that Millie ends up with.

Adding to the contrived plot, the musician's father falls head over heels in love with Keaton, causing her to come to her senses and realize that, at long last, someone exists who can give her an orgasm.

Humor is totally lost when Stephen Collins makes out randomly with Keaton, especially because most people associate him as the preacher in "7th Heaven."

This scene is just one of many awkward moments in "Because I Said So." Forced jokes and clichés comprise a script that is tiresome.

I found myself hoping the movie would end far sooner than it did. Anyone looking for a good romantic comedy should not see this movie.

Why? "Because I Said So."

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools