Because I Said So (2007)

A meddling mother tries to set her daughter up with the right man so her kid won't follow in her footsteps.

Director:

Michael Lehmann

Writers:

Karen Leigh Hopkins, Jessie Nelson

Stars:

Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore, Gabriel Macht

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Diane Keaton	...	Daphne Wilder
Mandy Moore	...	Milly Wilder
Gabriel Macht	...	Johnny
Tom Everett Scott	...	Jason
Lauren Graham	...	Maggie
Piper Perabo	...	Mae
Stephen Collins	...	Joe
Ty Panitz	...	Lionel
Matt Champagne	...	Eli
Colin Ferguson	...	Derek
Tony Hale	...	Stuart
Sophina Brown	...	Milly's Staff #1 / Matisse
Karen Leigh Hopkins	...	Milly's Staff #2 / Charlie
Emily Maisano	...	Milly's Staff #3
Gerald Downey	...	Cousin Dougy's Friend

Storyline

Daphne Wilder is a mother whose love knows no bounds or boundaries. She is the proud mom of three daughters: stable psychologist Maggie, sexy and irreverent Mae and insecure, adorable Milly - 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 on-line 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 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?

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Plot Keywords:

meddling | psychologist | you can say that again joke | sobbing female | subtitled scene | 

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Taglines:

She's just your normal, overprotective, overbearing, over-the-top mother.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content including dialogue, some mature thematic material and partial nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Italy] Official site [Russia]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian Mandarin

Release Date:

2 February 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Von Frau zu Frau

Filming Locations:

Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$13,122,865 (USA) (2 February 2007)

Gross:

$42,640,890 (USA) (30 March 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Gold Circle Films

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The names of the daughters, Maggie (Lauren Graham), Milly (Mandy Moore), and Mae (Piper Perabo), come from an e.e. cummings poem that starts "Maggie and Milly and Molly and May went to the beach to play one day." A student in Johnny's guitar class is named Molly.

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Goofs

When Daphne and Joe are watching the old movie classic a scene is playing and the character says "I should have married him" just before Joe kisses Daphne. After they kiss and we see a shot of them from behind the same scene of the movie is playing again.

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Quotes

Daphne Wilder: Well, who would you choose for my daughter?
Johnny: Me.
Daphne Wilder: What? No way!
Johnny: Why not?
Daphne Wilder: Oh, please. I am not setting my daughter up with an attractive, charming musician who will just break her heart.
Johnny: Wow. I love being reduced to a cultural cliche.

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Connections

References The Dating Game (1965)

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Soundtracks

Say What
Written by James Hill and Les Brown
Courtesy of Associated Production Music LLC

User Reviews

A Bad Case of Static Cling

Greetings again from the darkness. It is now official. Diane Keaton has reached the parody of herself stage. She has become a caricature of her character. The loopy, over-the-top 60 yr old female who screams stereotype with each line. It was evident in "Something's Gotta Give" that she had made the turn, but "Because I Said So" time warps her into the level of folly ... similar to Leslie Nielsen (of "Naked Gun" fame) who once was also a respected actor. The difference being, Nielsen is at least funny, Keaton is purely grating and obnoxious. And enough with the turtle necks and ridiculous wardrobe. No one dresses like that ... especially in L.A.

Of course, there is more to this movie than Diane Keaton ... wait, no there really isn't. The only semblance of a bright spot is the glimpse of potential flashed by Mandy Moore. She really has screen charisma and no longer just looks like a big kid. She has 3 films over the next 18 months, so we will see just how she is progressing. Other than that, all we get is "Gilmore Girls" Lauren Graham as the wisest of Keaton's three daughters and Piper Perabo as one of the most nondescript characters of all time. I guess she was cast because she looked decent in underwear for the massage scene.

As for the poor guys in this one ... no not us schmucks who actually paid to watch, I am talking about the actors. Tom Everett Scott is totally miscast as a workaholic architect. Gabriel Macht ("A Love Song for Bobby Long") has little to do but flash his smile and twinkle his eyes. And Stephen Collins is evidently the new Tom Skerritt. You know, the cute older guy in all the chick flicks??? The director of this horrid mess is Michael Lehmann, who in the past has delivered such gems as "Hudson Hawk", "Airheads" and the torturous "40 Days and 40 Nights". When will Hollywood stop giving this guy money to make this worthless fluff? I am sure this weak, no-content film will make money ... simply because real life mothers and daughters will think they should go see it and laugh that someone's relationship is worse than theirs. I say, SAVE YOUR MONEY and rent "Terms of Endearment", which may be the best movie ever about a mother and daughter's struggles to show their love for each other. Just stay away from this one!