Because I Said So
For a romantic comedy to
work it has to have many of the same elements that a real romance possesses.
There needs to be a rhythm to it. Like a song.
There has to be comfortableness
in the relationships of the people involved. And it has to include dialogue
that isn't rushed or faked. It has to be real
and believable. Because
I Said So amazingly has none of these elements. And at times even less.
It is a shame with the cast they had to work with.
But like real romance it
takes more than just warm bodies showing up. It has to have a foundation
and purpose. The writers failed to follow this rule and
the end result is a movie
that is a mess of trial and error.
Daphne (Diane Keaton) is
a divorced woman days away from her 60th birthday. She avoids this fact
by delving into the personal relationships of her
youngest daughter Milly
(Mandy Moore). Daphne does everything possible to help her daughter find
Mr. Right but does it all the wrong way. This scenario has been played
out so many times but still can work with the right balance of writing
and chemistry. Without it everyone sort of just reads their lines and hopes
that it washes out in the end. But it doesn't. The scenes have no synergy
or connection to anything. Sort of like the writers filled three minute
segments with what they hoped would be cute, relatable moments. What they
got where stiff, uncomfortable moments of mayhem. From the very first scene
it was out of sync and stayed that away until the very end.
Blame it on bad directing
but Keaton delivers one of the worst performances of her career. She tries
too hard to be the ditzy, overbearing,
I-wanna-be-cute character
and it comes across borderline embarrassing. There is no sympathy for her.
This feeling carries over into the rest of the cast
as well and by the end you
couldn't care less what happens. You want to see the brilliant Keaton from
Something’s Gotta Give but the script was too
sub-par. You just want it
over and done. Lauren Graham and Piper Perabo play oore's other two siblings.
Both sort of stumble around with looks on their
faces that beg for direction.
The leading men seem to have the same issues. Tom Everett Scott and Gabriel
Macht are both able to deliver strong
performances but are strained
to find anything to work with.
Because I Said So
is rated PG-13 for sexual content including dialogue, some mature thematic
material and partial nudity. There is a lot of premarital sex alluded to
without ever really being shown. As a fan of romantic comedies I truly
wanted something good from this one. I tried hard to find anything about
it that worked. But I simply could not. I give it 1.5 out of 5 burnt soufflés.
Not worth a theater ticket. DVD rental at best. If everything else is checked
out. Ok, I'm done. With a look at Because I Said So, I'm Matt Mungle.
The Mungle (01/31/07)
Matt is a member of the North
Texas Film Critics Association (NTFCA) and hosts the weekly syndicated
Indie Rock Radio Show Spin 180. Plus with his
wife Cindy they do a weekly
radio feature, The Mungles on Movies. For additional reviews and interview
clips visit the website www.mungleshow.com"
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