Because I Said So

Daphne is a sexy, stylish and slightly neurotic middle-aged mother, so naturally she’s played by Diane Keaton, the best thing in many a mediocre girlie comedy (see ‘Something’s Gotta Give’, ‘The Family Stone’, etc.) The female focus here is clear from the off: men are barely to be seen as Daphne and her trio of gorgeous daughters titter, bicker and plot to marry off lone singleton Milly (Mandy Moore), a young caterer with a suspiciously well-trained singing voice. Daphne resorts to an internet ad, but fails to advise Milly of her plan, so her daughter is approached by men her mother has already vetted in secret. The deception storyline is then sidelined for romantic dilemmas: should Milly choose the smarmy architect with tons of cash or the sensitive musician with a cute kid? Clearly, this is no intellectual challenge, but Milly does use words like ‘aberration’, so it’s aimed slightly above the usual mindless romantic comedy market. It scores occasionally, mainly thanks to Keaton’s performance, but heavy-handed dollops of schmaltz mean that it remains in the aforementioned mediocre territory.