If grating is what you are looking for, then by all means, don't miss Because I Said So. Watching this movie, with Diane Keaton cast as the ne plus ultra of irritating, overbearing mothers, is roughly the equivalent of listening to fingernails on a chalkboard for nearly two hours.
With her skittishness and her near-constant state of fluster, Keaton as a comic actress can be wonderfully endearing, the sort of lovable ditz you can laugh with and desperately want to protect. But here, as a mother who can't bear the thought of her lovelorn daughter (Mandy Moore) spending one more minute unattached, her tics are played to outrageous proportions. There's little that's funny in her characterization, which is more pitiful than charming. At best, you want someone to sit her character down for a good, long talk in hopes of averting the disaster that's sure to come. At worst, you want someone to slip her a tranquilizer in hopes she'll remain dormant for the rest of the movie.
Because I Said So (Warner Bros.) Starring Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore, Lauren Graham. Directed by Michael Lehmann. Rated PG-13. Time 111 minutes.