How to Deal (2003)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Clare Kilner

Writers (WGA):

Sarah Dessen (novels)
Neena Beber (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 July 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Rule #1 There are no rules.

Plot:

A teenager (Moore), disillusioned by too many examples of love gone wrong, refuses to believe that true love exists. Then this new guy (Ford) comes along...

Plot Keywords:

High School | Wedding | Dance | Mother Daughter Relationship | Bride

Cast

Mandy Moore	...	Halley Martin
Allison Janney	...	Lydia Martin
Trent Ford	...	Macon Forrester
Alexandra Holden	...	Scarlett Smith
Dylan Baker	...	Steve Beckwith
Nina Foch	...	Grandma Halley
Mackenzie Astin	...	Lewis Warsher
Connie Ray	...	Marion Smith
Mary Catherine Garrison	...	Ashley Martin
Sonja Smits	...	Carol Warsher
Laura Catalano	...	Lorna Queen
Ray Kahnert	...	Donald Sherwood
Andrew Gillies	...	Buck Warsher
John White	...	Michael Sherwood
Alison MacLeod	...	Sharon Sherwood

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual content, drug material, language and some thematic elements.

Runtime:

Philippines:99 min | USA:101 min | Argentina:102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Brazil:12 | Iceland:L | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39293) | Australia:M | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | USA:PG-13 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Birchmount Collegiate, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Focus Features

Trivia:

Is a combination of the Sarah Dessen novels "Someone like You" and "That Summer"

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: Towards the end, Halley and Macon are dancing in the hallway. Nurses are visible in the background, in the next shot, they disappear.

Quotes:

Macon: If you are ready to jump, I will be here to catch you.

Movie Connections:

References Sixteen Candles (1984)

Soundtrack:

Waves

A pleasant surprise

I almost considered passing up watching this one, but I'm glad I didn't. This movie has all the hallmarks of a bad afterschool special, actually four or five of them smashed together. But just when you think it's about to fall off a cliff of cliches, something unexpectedly intelligent happens. Just when it's about to turn into a tear-jerker, the director puts her camera, almost joyfully, above the rain to show everyone shielding themselves with the church program. Just when you think it's going to turn into a soppy love story, the characters flee from each other, scared out of their minds at the possibility. Just when you think it's going to be a soap opera, Mandy Moore acts her way out of the paper bag that people seem to pigeon-hole her into. You get the idea.

The actors all do well, especially Allison Janney, who puts a real edge to a role that could have easily been mush. I must admit, though, Peter Gallagher, usually a reliable guy, doesn't do much with his aging hipster role. The real joy here is Moore. She's got just enough stuff to hook you into the story, and she's just raw enough that she'll make you believe. And, yeah, the dialogue is corny here and there, but not outrageously so. I have to hand it to the director to keep everyone loose enough to pull off some of these lines, and to make the shots interesting enough for us to care what happens when they do.

The plot, which does have its convolutions and weird devices, is not nearly as interesting as Halley's growth as a character. It's basically a character piece wrapped in a teen romance. And Moore brings it all together.