See it because I said so

This relational mother/daughter movie is as cheesy and predictable as you'd imagine a Mandy Moore movie to be, but it's so funny I used this review as an excuse to see it two weekends in a row.

It came as no surprise I could predict the rest of the plot 45 minutes in. Still, being the fan of classic happy-ending movies that I am, I found it's much more fun to relish in the sweet moments of hilarious dates than to complain that these ridiculous scenarios never happen in real life.

Milly Wilder (Mandy Moore) is a young twentysomething caterer constantly rebounding from bad relationships. Though she can't quite get it together -- her constant snort/laughing combo is one indication, along with an overuse of the word 'great'-- she still has a charm and sweetness guys turn to, though not always for long.

Her single mother Daphne (Diane Keaton) feels it's her motherly duty to make sure she doesn't end up alone -- even if that means putting an online ad up to find a 'life-partner' for her young adult daughter. The kind of thing you're (hopefully) glad your mother would never, ever do. Keaton's roles over the last decade have been fluffy, over-the-top caricatures, but she pulls off the quirky mom role well.

Here ensues Milly's back and forth between smart, career-driven Jason (Tom Everett Scott), whose best token of affection is to give Milly pearl bracelets that are a family heirloom, to musician Johnny, whose likewise gesture is using magic marker to draw a red heart on Milly's hand to cheer her up after an argument. (Cheesy, yes -- but I'd take a guy who drew red hearts on my hands any day of the week.)

I loved the slightly raunchy humor of Daphne not being able get porn off her computer screen and Milly trying to eliminate static cling by removing her red slip in the middle of the road. Having the loveable Lauren Graham and Piper Perabo playing Daphne's other two daughters didn't hurt.

And the best part? Moore's usual inclination to burst into song mid-movie is brief and best kept that way. C'mon, you know she couldn't star in an entire movie without pushing for some kind of vocal performance, but in this one, it's a far better performance from Moore and far less cheesy than past films like "A Walk to Remember."

If you're a fan of chick-flicks like "Sweet Home Alabama," where you know which guy the girl is going to pick the whole time but you can't help but want to see it all unfold in a happy ending, then this is for you. If you're cynical and not a big chick-flick fan, then you might want to check out "Annie Hall."