Everyone’s a critic

A “critic” at a publication I never heard of suggested that I not write reviews for films that I didn’t like. For real. He really said this. He didn’t seem to understand that at the Chicago Sun-Times (where I was employed at the time), editors didn’t give reporters the option of only writing about things that they liked. He argued with me about it until I finally just stopped responding to his emails. Who was he? Honestly, I can’t even remember.

“Because I Said So”

In Because I Said So, Diane Keaton outdoes any pushy parent trying to marry off their children. On the eve of her 60th birthday, Daphne (Keaton) decides that she will find a suitable suitor for her youngest daughter Milly (Mandy Moore). Never mind that Moore was barely into her 20’s when she shot the film and easily could pass as a high-school senior. The film asks us to believe that an otherwise smart, loving mother would push marriage on a young woman who obviously wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment.