BECAUSE I SAID SO

I would never have thought that the first-time director of the funny, satirical film Heathers (1989) could also have directed Because I Said So 18 years later.

We can chalk this up to, “What were they thinking?” Michael Lehmann, the director, mishandles a film that should have been an easy romantic-comedy slam-dunk. The premise is straightforward: a meddling mom (Diane Keaton) is afraid that her daughter (Mandy Moore) will never find a suitable husband. She takes a personal ad on behalf of her daughter and interviews men to find her daughter’s “Mr. Right.” After a boring and genre-specific, obligatory montage sequence of non-suitable suitors, Daphne (Keaton) meets the successful architect, Jason (Tom Everett Scott), and is immediately smitten with his good looks, his successful career, and his family pedigree. Let the conniving begin!

But wait, there's a twist—well, not really a twist, rather a cliché. Johnny (Gabriel Macht), a musician playing guitar at the restaurant where Daphne interviews potential suitors, is also interested in meeting Milly (Moore). Daphne, who thinks Johnny is good-looking, doesn't want her daughter to marry a musician, a profession she feels is unreliable. I don’t want to tell you the ending, but guess who wins Milly’s heart?

Diane Keaton, again, “What was she thinking?” I have not seen this much overacting since Jim Carrey’s last movie. Note to Ms. Keaton: being nattily dressed might help you find the character, but not dressed the same as other characters from your most recent movies. Wardrobe should be the last element in an actor's interpretation of a character.  Any actor worth his or her salt should be able to become the character wearing a tuna fish sandwich or Armani--a matter of substance over form.

The single bright spot in the film was Gabriel Macht. His understated interpretation and cool looks as the musician helped make bearable his scenes with the one-note performance of Mandy Moore. If he chooses scripts with good stories and a good director attached, he should have a solid film career.

Because I Said So has February release written all over it. Right now studios are too busy pushing films for award hardware to be concerned with their slate of February films (can you say straight to DVD?), which should not be the case. Every film should have the same care and attention as the films being lauded right now because, well, I say so.

                                                        James R. Janowsky