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?

---

Plot Keywords:

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

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Comedy | Romance

---

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

Gross USA:

$42,674,040

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$69,485,490

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.

---

Goofs

In the scene where Daphne is following Millie and Johnny on their first date, at one point Daphne ducks down to avoid being seen by Johnny. When doing so, we see the dog in the back seat and the head and arm of the "stunt driver" in the driver's seat.

---

Quotes

Milly: You and my mom have been totally scheming. And and and and now I know exactly why she pushed me on you because she was voting for you. She found you.
Jason: Yeah but that doesn't take anything away from us. What matters is that we did meet, and how good this is between us. And the truth of that...
Milly: The truth. Where is the truth? Where is the truth, because you've been living a lie and I've been lying to you Jason.
Jason: Yeah but that doesn't change anything.
Milly: How does that not change... everything?
Jason: Because ...
[...]

---

Alternate Versions

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

---

Connections

References Love in the Afternoon (1957)

---

Soundtracks

Yes, My Darling Daughter
Written by Jack Lawrence
Performed by Sandie Shaw
Courtesy of EMI Records
Under license from EMI Film & TV Music

User Reviews

sitcom-level romantic comedy

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.