`Because I Said So'
It's apt that the two main characters in "Because I Said So" are professional bakers, since the film so carefully follows the standard recipe for women's romantic comedy.
All the ingredients are there, from the bad-date montage to the Golden Oldies sing-along to the dog that observes crazy human antics with befuddlement. But these films don't demand originality to succeed. They're souffles that rise or fall on the zest with which they're handled, and this time the results are pretty tasty.
Diane Keaton plays Daphne, an unnervingly robust bakery owner, and the well-intentioned but overprotective single mother of three adult daughters. Maggie (Lauren Graham), a successful psychologist, and Mae (Piper Perabo), a free spirit, are contentedly married, but young Milly (Mandy Moore) is a romantic also-ran. Daphne conspires to save Milly from a lonely life like hers by matchmaking via Internet personals; when Milly realizes that her revitalized social life is the result of Mama's interfering, their relationship is put to the test.
Keaton's coquettish Daphne is a lean, elegant fireball who's something of a passive-aggressive monster. The film makes it clear that her marriage was unsatisfying, and she put aside post-divorce romance to build her business and raise her girls. Now she's getting on in years, but still young in spirit.
Her every move telegraphs a wired urgency. About to turn 60, she's curious about what she has missed, doing some research on randy Web sites whose audio feeds include lusty sighs, groans and the occasional moo. When she auditions potential suitors for Milly over drinks in a hotel bar, there's a broad suggestion of sexual rivalry, and one prospective beau thinks the glamorous, revved-up Daphne is on the hunt for a younger man herself.
Eventually Milly finds herself torn between two fairly well matched suitors who are unaware they're sharing her attentions. Tom Everett Scott plays a dreamy, successful, somewhat finicky architect; Gabriel Macht is a handsome musician with limited future prospects. You can probably guess the outcome, but the deck isn't stacked too obviously one way or the other.
Moore is well cast as Milly. She reflects Keaton's ditzy energy, but adds a soft, needy undercurrent of emotional tension. While Daphne secretly pulls the strings on Milly's love life, Moore practically cries for her consolation and confidence. It's a vicious cycle. The more a parent implies a child can't handle independence, the more infantile the response, proving the parent's dismissive point.
Daphne sends Milly off to meet a couple of eligible guys with the oh-so-helpful advice that she shouldn't do that ugly hyena laugh she makes when she gets nervous. Naturally, Milly begins to cackle and snort uncontrollably. Thanks, Mom. Add in the fact that Keaton is a trim silver fox and Moore has the substantial figure of a woman who enjoys a good meal, and you've got a messy relationship.
It's funny and a little unsettling — the clearest link between this fluffy film and director Michael Lehmann's earlier jet-black comedies "Heathers" and "Meet the Applegates." The best moments aren't belly laughs (there are a couple of those, too) but the jokes that ring uncomfortably true.
<B>TITLE:</B> "Because I Said So"<b>CAST:</B> Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore, Lauren Graham, Piper Perabo, Stephen Collins, Gabriel Macht, Tom Everett Scott<b>DIRECTOR:</B> Michael Lehmann<b>RATED:</B> PG-13 for sexual content including dialogue, some mature thematic material and partial nudity<b>GRADE:</B> 3 Stars (out of 5)
