Mommy Brain

(Because I Said So was provided to me by Special Ops Media for the purpose of review.)

To Daphne Wilder, mother of three girls, love equals control. Her favorite phrase is “Because I Said So” – and her three daughters are all afraid to go against her wishes. Older daughters Maggie and Mae are married off – and now Daphne sets her sights on her youngest daughter, Milly.

Milly (Mandy Moore) is insecure and slightly goofy with a habit of running off at the mouth and laughing until she snorts when she’s nervous. Daphne is convinced Milly will never find Mr. Right, so she puts an ad in the personals: Mother seeks life partner for her daughter.

Milly “accidentally” meets the man Mom has chosen for her, but also meets Johnny, a single-father / musician. Of course, he’s perfect for her – but her mom is pressuring her to go for the other guy, a controlling, wealthy businessman.

I watched this movie Friday night with Michelle, and we were both laughing so hard at one point that her son came downstairs and said, “Can you guys still breathe?”

The movie is perfectly cast, with Diane Keaton as mom Daphne, and Lauren Graham and Piper Perabo as the two oldest daughters. Mandy Moore is sweet and endearing as Milly. Gabriel Macht plays Johnny, and I bet we’ll be seeing him a lot in the future.

Because I Said So has a sweet love story and lots of comic moments. I will issue this warning, however: it pushes the edge of its PG-13 rating. The mom and daughters have some very, very frank discussions about sex, and Milly is sleeping with both of her suitors. There are no graphic sex scenes – just kissing and implied sex, but the fact that she is physically involved with both of them bugged me.

I enjoyed this movie, but please take the above warning into account when deciding whether or not to see it.