Rating:
3 Bowls of Popcorn (and chocolate soufflé)
“We’re having an off day and I’m sure we will have a few hundred more if we stay together and that’s OK.” – Johnny
You see, that’s what I love about Because I Said So, it’s puts life in perspective. This story is a disaster waiting to happen. I mean, come on, the mother tries to find a date for her daughter. This cannot possible end well, right?
Well, Hollywood makes it end right which is delightful, but what I love about this movie is that it reminds me of all the good parts of my own mother. Daphne loves her daughter for all the right reason but in all the wrong ways. She wants so desperately for her daughter NOT to end up like her, but what she doesn’t realize is “her” isn’t all that bad. “Her” is competent and loving. “Her” is perfectly OK for her daughters to become. Daphne doesn’t want her daughter to “deal with crumbs” in her dating life. What mother would!? But Daphne tries too hard. She doesn’t want to watch her daughter fail. But, sadly, failure is part of life. Let’s face it, if we didn’t fail from time to time, success wouldn’t seem so great.
Another key to this movie: Though it isn’t realistic (which movie really is?), it’s honest. Milly is the protagonist, but not the victim. She screws up; she handles the situation wrong. She ends up dating two guys because she doesn’t know how to make her own decision. She keeps hearing her mom’s voice in her head (don’t we all?). She’s scared to make a choice. Though everything is all tied up with a nice red bow at the end, at least the road there is rocky. Mom and daughter fight, sisters conspire, kids are crazy, chocolatey desserts fail, poor choices are willingly made… Oh, and of course Mandy Moore sings. She sings in ALL of her movies.
Josh’s words on this chick flick? “Eh, it’s one of Mandy Moore’s better movies due to the supporting cast.”
A lot down! A lot to go!
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The Movie Marathon 
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