Because I Said So - Review
Saw "Because I Said So" a while back, looked like a light fun movie to watch and pass a lazy evening with...well didnt quite turn out that way! full review behind the cut!
BECAUSE I SAID SO
Starring: Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore, Lauren Graham, Piper Perabo
Directed by: Michael Lehmann
If you are able to watch this movie in one go you are far more patient than I could ever be; it took me two sittings to get to the end. Mind you, I have nothing against fast, funny mother-daughter banter, in fact I’m a big fan of the Gilmore Girls (incidentally Lauren Graham who plays the mother in the show is in this movie) but while in GG the banter is sharp, witty and engaging, here it makes you want to reach for the remote and hit the mute button!
Daphne Wilder (Diane Keaton) is a divorced mother of three; stable Maggie (Lauren Graham), middle-child Mae (Piper Perabo) and completely unlucky-in-love Milly (Mandy Moore). After the weddings of her two elder daughters Daphne decides to focus all her energies on finding Mr Right for her youngest, Milly. And of course what better way to do that than by placing a personal ad on the internet! Suddenly Milly finds herself being pursued by two guys; successful architect Jason, the one that the mother chose and guitar teacher Johnny, the one that the mother rejected but who thinks he knows better. Since the movie is clichéd to the max one knows exactly what’s going to happen pretty much from the word go, however, it’s the awkwardness and painfulness of the whole process that’s the surprise.
The movie is terribly written and awfully acted. And that’s a real shame, with a talented cast on hand even a half decent script in the hands of a capable director could have been made into a watchable movie. Diane Keaton is one of the most respected actors in Hollywood yet here she is, playing her character so over-the-top that she makes Eddie Murphy’s Nutty Professor look like a subtle and nuanced performance. Mandy Moore was a revelation in ‘Saved’, her performance was strong; it hit the mark and promised great things to come. ‘Because I said so’ is a huge disappointment, her clumsy, naïve and supposedly endearing Milly is anything but.
It’s not really possible to comment much on Piper Perabo and Lauren Graham as they were hardly in the movie. Perabo’s role was literally one of ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ and Graham was on screen for maybe 7 mins tops, which is also a shame because her performance was really the only one worth watching.
The script tries too hard to be like ‘Sex and the City’, unfortunately for it though instead of being honest yet sophisticated as in SATC, the humour in this movie came out immature and crass and there were times when it honestly seemed like it had been written by a 15 year old boy.
The only people this movie would be recommended to are all young filmmakers as a lesson in how NOT to make a film.
BECAUSE I SAID SO
Starring: Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore, Lauren Graham, Piper Perabo
Directed by: Michael Lehmann
If you are able to watch this movie in one go you are far more patient than I could ever be; it took me two sittings to get to the end. Mind you, I have nothing against fast, funny mother-daughter banter, in fact I’m a big fan of the Gilmore Girls (incidentally Lauren Graham who plays the mother in the show is in this movie) but while in GG the banter is sharp, witty and engaging, here it makes you want to reach for the remote and hit the mute button!
Daphne Wilder (Diane Keaton) is a divorced mother of three; stable Maggie (Lauren Graham), middle-child Mae (Piper Perabo) and completely unlucky-in-love Milly (Mandy Moore). After the weddings of her two elder daughters Daphne decides to focus all her energies on finding Mr Right for her youngest, Milly. And of course what better way to do that than by placing a personal ad on the internet! Suddenly Milly finds herself being pursued by two guys; successful architect Jason, the one that the mother chose and guitar teacher Johnny, the one that the mother rejected but who thinks he knows better. Since the movie is clichéd to the max one knows exactly what’s going to happen pretty much from the word go, however, it’s the awkwardness and painfulness of the whole process that’s the surprise.
The movie is terribly written and awfully acted. And that’s a real shame, with a talented cast on hand even a half decent script in the hands of a capable director could have been made into a watchable movie. Diane Keaton is one of the most respected actors in Hollywood yet here she is, playing her character so over-the-top that she makes Eddie Murphy’s Nutty Professor look like a subtle and nuanced performance. Mandy Moore was a revelation in ‘Saved’, her performance was strong; it hit the mark and promised great things to come. ‘Because I said so’ is a huge disappointment, her clumsy, naïve and supposedly endearing Milly is anything but.
It’s not really possible to comment much on Piper Perabo and Lauren Graham as they were hardly in the movie. Perabo’s role was literally one of ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ and Graham was on screen for maybe 7 mins tops, which is also a shame because her performance was really the only one worth watching.
The script tries too hard to be like ‘Sex and the City’, unfortunately for it though instead of being honest yet sophisticated as in SATC, the humour in this movie came out immature and crass and there were times when it honestly seemed like it had been written by a 15 year old boy.
The only people this movie would be recommended to are all young filmmakers as a lesson in how NOT to make a film.