Mandy Moore plays the youngest of three daughters who have to put up with an annoying, overbearing mom (Diane Keaton) in the comedy movie Because I Said So. Moore's the only one of the group that's not married and that drives her mother into taking drastic measures in order to see her youngest in a promising relationship.
Mandy Moore Can’t Relate to the Meddlesome Mom of Because I Said So: “No, I feel really lucky in a way - lucky or unlucky. I know my mom cares but just not enough to really meddle too much,” explained Moore. “I guess I have sort of an atypical relationship with my mom for someone my age because, I think, I started so young with the music thing and I had my parents always on the road with me. So at a time when I think I should have been rebelling, like in high school, they were actually my best friends. They were the people I was closest to because they were on the road with me and going through this crazy roller coaster experience with me. My mom has never been a big meddler and isn't extremely opinionated, or at least just doesn't voice it to me. She's sort of let me come into my own by myself. I think that's just a testament to what my parents did, in terms of raising us.”
Working with Diane Keaton: “Meeting Diane, I was completely nervous. I remember walking in to Michael Lehmann's office during preproduction and sort of shaking her hand for the first time and being completely in awe and nervous. Like, ‘How am I going to pretend like she's my mother?’ I love her so much, she's on a pedestal anyway, so I tried to use that a little bit. But just like any other costar, you just get to know each other and everybody sort of opens up. I think it was nice having Lauren [Graham] and Piper [Perabo] there a lot because all girls, we just wanted to be gossipy and talk about shopping and clothes and boys and all that stuff.”
Preparing for the Underwear Scene: Although Keaton didn’t have to wear a thong (she lucked out and wore normal underwear), Moore, Perabo and Graham did in one particular scene in the film. Moore says, “The scene with us in our underwear was particularly difficult because we kept going back and forth between… You know, Piper was fine. She was the one I think right off the bat that was like, 'Yeah, all right, I'll be in a thong. I don't care.' Lauren and I were petrified and kept going back and forth between, ‘Should we have body doubles? Should we do it ourselves?’ I'm super self-conscious and what girl really feels comfortable about being on a gigantic movie screen with her butt there? Just everything is in full view. But in the end, we all decided just to dive right in and go for it. Why not? I'm embarrassed of it but yeah, it's over.”
And speaking of embarrassing scenes. Remember Meg Ryan’s fake orgasm in When Harry Met Sally? Moore has a similar type of moment in Because I Said So. “It was kind of all written out but it was sort of written in a way where obviously - she's kind of finding her words and finding the right way to approach it with her mother. I think I kind of infused a little bit of myself in there as well.”
Choosing Films and Her Music Career: “I actually just finished my record, which was sort of a two year process in terms of writing and everything. And I think in that sense it's just about prioritizing. The last couple years, I've really been sort of focused on acting and I feel really lucky because great projects keep coming my way.
I guess the criteria that I look for, it gets increasingly difficult because when you have the privilege of working with someone like Diane [Keaton], it's kind of like, 'Well, where do you go from there?' But it depends on the scripts and the character and just everybody involved, the other actors and directors. I don't know. It's sort of just like a gut feeling. When you find something, you're like, 'Yes, I want to sink my teeth into that.'”
Mixing Singing and Acting: Moore doesn’t play a singer in the movie but her character does get to show off her voice twice during the film when all the women of the family perform for their party guests. Moore is always hesitant about mixing singing and acting but did so in Because I Said So at the urging of Diane Keaton. “Diane was all for it and I was like, 'Okay, if Diane wants to do it, I'll do it.' But I actually had a lot of fun. It was sort of a different experience because we all had to rehearse together, and we went in the studio together to record it. I've never been so nervous to sing in front of people before. It was an interesting experience but it was so much fun to actually choose the numbers in the film. We had a great time, working out our harmonies and everything. Felt like we were in like a girl group.”
Mandy Moore Doesn’t Kiss and Tell: In the movie Moore’s dating two handsome men. So who’s the better kisser – Gabriel Macht or Tom Everett Scott? Moore won’t tell. “That's not fair. Then they find out. You guys are like, 'Oh, Gabriel, she said…' They were both equally fantastic. That's always such a nice perk of a movie.”
Traveling to Sundance with Dedication: Moore’s follow up film to Because I Said So is the independent production, Dedication, which is premiering at the Sundance Film Festival. “My one and only Sundance experience was with a movie called Saved that I did. We just had such a blast there so I have fond memories of Sundance. And this movie's called Dedication. It's with Billy Crudup and Tom Wilkinson and Diane Weist. I play a children's book illustrator to Billy Crudup's children's book author. We're sort of this team, this duo. And it's just like this slice of life movie. I don't know. It's really kind of weird to explain but I'm proud of the movie. It's a pretty different role for me and I'm excited to see it.”
Moore enjoys working on independent films. “I do, I do. I think I had the most fun making a movie with Dedication, just because you knew that it was a passion project for everyone involved. We had X amount of days to shoot New York in the cold. No trailers, just sort of kind of doing it guerilla style in a way. We had two takes, each a different angle. It's like you really had to sort of be on your game and everyone was there for the right reasons. I loved it.”
