Review of Because I Said So (2007) by Jeff B — 09 Aug 2010

Because the premise had great potential?because the cast was highly acclaimed?because the whole she-bang smacked of an intelligent comedy?because the sum of these parts only amounted to one hell of a mess, Because I Said So is a giant lesson in disappointment. Disjointed, long, and formulaic to the point that the audience could watch it blindfolded, this movie cannot not even decide what type of comedy it wanted to be. What should have been a witty romantic comedy quickly descends into a wit-less slap-shtick, reducing the legendary Diane Keaton to a pratfall-prone buffoon in the process.

In the PG-13-rated comedy Because I Said So, Keaton plays an overzealous mother hell-bent to find a proper suitor for her youngest and unmarried daughter (Moore), all the while unknowingly searching for love herself.

Keaton works best in an ensemble comedy (Something?s Gotta Give, for instance, garnered her an Oscar nomination) and Because I Said So stacks the deck with the talented roster of Moore, Lauren Graham, and Piper Perabo to play her impossibly gorgeous daughters. If this reviewer could qualify a film based solely on it including a scene of the cast exchanging one-liners in their panties, the film would be a 4-star affair, but alas: Everybody here seemed game for a good comedy, but the story works in so many I Love Lucy-esque bits for Keaton to sell through that the ensemble could only stand by and wince in pain?not at the clowning, but at the fact that they signed off on the ridiculous script.

Bottom line: One giant lesson in disappointment.