Review: Because I Said So

Ape Culture saw the new Diane Keaton/Mandy Moore romantic comedy Because I Said So this week. Here are 10 things wrong with it. And two things we liked.


Bad things

1. Stupid Bits about Technology: Humor about mother's struggles with technology completely unbelievable to the point of annoying - as if the writer didn't know what he was talking about or just didn't want to do his "normal human behavior" homework.
2. Diane Keaton: lots of overacting all around, but her constant gesturing made us weary.
3. Sisters: wasted characters. Glutted the story. Piper Perabo as middle sister has even less to do than Jan Brady. She's a good actress totally wasted in this role.
4. Unfunny Script: not funny, not realistic, not endearing - although there were a few "aww" moments poorly constructed to try to manipulate us.
5. Wardrobe Malfunctions: Movies are not an excuse for Diane Keaton to wear silly dresses. Since she does this in real life, when she also does it in the movies it becomes hard to see where Diane stops and the character begins.
6. Director: We expect more from Michael Lehmann, since he made one of Coolia's all time favorite films Heathers. But this generic romantic comedy is more in line with his weaker recent efforts like My Giant and Forty Days and Forty Nights.
   
7. Lack of Chemistry: there was no chemistry between Diane Keaton and the daughters. Diane just doesn't do maternal well.
8. Art Direction: When characters live in extravagant homes - like Mandy Moore's Venice loft, Diane's big townhouse, and Stephen Collins' house on the freakin' Venice canals, someone should at least explain to us how they got so rich. After all, Diane is supposed to have been a single mom raising 3 girls on her own, which doesn't speak to the kind of extreme wealth shown in her home furnishings and outrageous outfits. All homes looked art-directed rather than lived in, like pages from the Pottery Barn catalog.
   
9. Plot: There's very little suspense as the choice between beaus is quite obvious to everyone except our heroine and her devoted mother.
10. In case of emergency...smash a cake in someone's face: This happens repeatedly in this movie. See #4 (Unfunny Script).

Good things

1. Mandy Moore: Overacted a bit but entirely likable as the every-girl. She has a definite future in romantic comedies, hopefully better-written ones.
2. Stephen Collins: He's actually kind of sexy when not spewing Christian platitudes on his long-running family show, 7th Circle of Hell.