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:

psychologist | brother sister relationship | father son reunion | two sisters | reference to tennessee williams | 

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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 Mandarin Italian

Release Date:

2 February 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Because I Said So

Filming Locations:

Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,122,865, 4 February 2007, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$42,674,040, 5 April 2007

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$69,485,490, 12 October 2008

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

Stephen Collins also played Diane Keaton's husband in The First Wives Club (1996).

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Goofs

When Milly breaks the bowl at Johnny's house and they are cleaning up the pieces, Lionel has on shoes. Then when Johnny tells him to go put on shoes, he is shown with bare feet.

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Quotes

Milly: [on the phone with her mother and sisters talking about the guy she's with] Only... I think he might have a hot-dog with a bun.
Daphne Wilder: [not getting it] Are you having a picnic?

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Alternate Versions

In the Italian version, Milly and Jason are learning French instead of Italian.

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Connections

References Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

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Soundtracks

Bossaland
Written and Performed by Pete Snell

User Reviews

Because it's not THAT bad ...

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.