User reviews

I found this movie to be funny, serious, entertaining, a little sad in parts, but overall, it didn't suck! I don't think it would win any awards, but it served its purpose well - it entertained me for a couple of hours - isn't that all we ask of a movie?

It deals with some VERY serious teenage problems - parents divorcing, finding new partners, teenage pregnancy, young love (and old love), and the cruncher, whether to have sex or not. It covered just about most of the problems teenagers face these days.

It was essentially a good movie and dealt with these issues quite well - not too heavy, not too light.

Mandy Moore was pretty darned good too - she has a nice little career ahead of her me thinks! :)

Halley(Mandy Moore) just absolutely doesn't believe that true love exists. She is upset with her parent's divorce, annoyed with her best friend's Scarlett(Alexandra Holden) relationship and is also sick about hearing about her sister's Ashley(Mary Catherine Garrison) wedding. Halley just can't see how people can be devoted to each other until she meets Macon(Trent Ford) and the two of them become friends and eventually more. Now the big question is: Will Halley finally fall in love too or will her relationship turn out to be a big disappointment? I thought this was a great teen drama. It dealt with real problems that teenagers go through, people die, people get pregnant and people get broken hearts. Unlike most sleazy teen movies, this one is realistic and the audience will most likely connect and understand what the characters are going through. Mandy Moore does a great job potraying the sweet and innocent Halley and there were also very funny performances by Alison Janney who played Halley's mother and Nina Foch who plays the stoned grandmother. Handsome newcomer Trent Ford doesn't do a bad job either and cutie Alexandra Holden is great too. I would give How to Deal 7/10.

How To Deal was a movie that I, even as a guy highly anticipated long before it's release. With a well-selected and not over-done cast and a promising trailer, I looked forward to seeing Mandy Moore's second leading role in a film. Her performance in A Walk to Remember was excellent reguardless of the fact it was her debut. Allison Janney is another actress I respect, ever since her small role as the grouchy secretary in 10 Things I Hate About You. Her role did not require as much "involvement" as Mandy's and Trent's, but she did well and contributed to this movie's good quality. Trent Ford was a debut and his acting was the bets in the whole movie. I also respect Alexandra Holden, probably the most, because unlike some young actresses like Hilary Duff, she is building up a slow, steady, solid foundation of experience and fame as she climbs up the Hollywood ladder of sucess. I think she will be a very big star by the end of the year.

Anyway, I personally found this to be one of the best movies in a long time. Yes, it was tacky, pervasive and thematic at many times with it's dismissed and glorified themes of teen sex, teen pregnancy and teen drug use but it conveyed itself in a way that has not been used as often lately and in a way that i truly enjoyed.

I don't know if it was the tone, cinematography, costumes, art direction, or a little bit of each which made How to Deal a pleasantly enjoyable movie. It just was in its feeling, that made me and others who enjoyed this movie forget about the abrupt and awkward wrap-up of the story towards the end.

The story is thick in sub-plots, characters, and their problems and relationships to others. This is what made it seem like a less of a thin movie than some may argue it was.

The plot was interesting and almost kept you on the edge of your seat as you watched Hally struggle and hoped things would work out for her.

This movie should have done much better and received better reviews than it did because it was quite a new experience that few appreciated. I give How to Deal an honest, generous 9/10

The bright primary colors in which the plot, dialog and characters of this movie are cast gives it away early on: this is a cross between a soap opera and a sitcom, made purely to entertain. As such, it's actually pretty good.

Mandy Moore is adorable. She seems to be learning how to act as she goes along, but isn't that how most of them did it? Give her a few more years and some better scripts to work with and she could be a major star.

The real problem is that for the movie's target audience of middle-class suburban white teenagers it's positively overflowing with groaners -- embarrassing "banter" between the kids, cartoonish characters (idiotic philandering husbands, evil boy-stealing girlfriends), and a preposterous storyline. My own teenage daughter and her friends thought How to Deal was, and I quote, "stupid." But for us middle-aged parents nostalgic for a time in their lives they've almost completely forgotten, it really isn't that bad. Give it a chance.

Mandy Moore was miscast in this film. She is too pretty and too tall for believability in the role. Perhaps the marketplace dictated her selection and not the director and writer. If one wants to see a more gritty depiction of divorce and death, one should try BLUE CAR.

Even though I am a guy I didn't like this movie one bit. I couldn't sit still it was a slow pace movie. Now don't get me wrong even though I am a guy I still enjoy some chick flicks like Down to You, 10 Things I Hate About You, and Boys and Girls. This one was just dull really had no humorus moments, and it was set as though it happens but in a unrealistic way. It does deal with teenage problems or what some teenagers go through but it, to me, was somewhat un realistic. I only went cause my girlfriend wanted to see it which is the case probably for many guys out there, and if you are one of those guys that might get dragged to see it try to find a way not too. Only if it's the very last option. (Girls seem to like the movie though.)

Who would have thought but this movie is actually really good. It's got a solid cast where everyone seems to be pulling their own weight and I can't help but love Mandy Moore in these teen dramas as she is so endearing and relatable. The storyline is so much deeper than I ever could have imagined and is certainly not some vapid teen movie. The relationships are complex and reflect real-life dramas, although not everyone experiences them and normally not in one go.

For a movie over 10 years old it has aged really well. As I had never seen it before I was impressed that it didn't fall into a decade genre. It makes for the perfect Sunday afternoon movie and I give it props for being engaging and very entertaining.

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.

A little bit of laugh, a little bit of cry. It's an ok movie.

The story itself isn't too bad. It might even have worked if not for what might challenge for the title of worst dialogue in film history. Those words come right out of some second rate teen magazine photo love story. The cast is not much better but even if they were, there's nothing to save here. You on the other hand can save your time and money and go watch some decent movie. Bad enough, that I had to endure this torture. 3/10 (and that's really friendly)

How to Deal is not a good movie. It's a stab at a more adult and grown up teenage film and while it doesn't suffer from bad acting, it does suffer from a horribly written script and what is most likely apathetic directing.

Mandy Moore is a decent actress, not great, but decent, and aside from Peter Gallagher, she isn't put up against too many big names, so she holds her own. The problem is that all of these actors are trapped inside a poorly written movie. There are too many specific instances where this film just doesn't cut it. It boils down to this, Mandy's character has to deal with her parents divorce, her sister's wedding, her father's remarrying, her best friend getting pregnant with her deceased boyfriend's baby (it's not what it sounds like), and the fact that despite her misgivings about love, falling in love with the high school clown named Macon. Yes, his name is Macon. The point is there is way too much going on and the movie does not adequately set up any of these events. At one point Haley (Mandy Moore's character) blows up over her Mom not believing that she could remember the last time Haley's comet passed by. She claims no one believes her when she tells people how she feels. Unfortunately, we never see anyone not believing her in the film and it seems more like the director told Mandy to blow up and get angry in this scene without telling her why. Other problems include a random car crash into a tree head on that leaves a Honda Civic hatchback with nothing but a cracked windshield. It leads to laughter it what is supposed to become an emotional scene. There are a few funny moments, but not many. Allison Janney as Mandy Moore's mother is quirky but not funny although she has the only laughs in the movie.

There is just too much wrong with this movie for anything to be right. It has no real point or plot, the acting is mediocre, and you will laugh at parts that are supposed to be dramatic. I can't think of anything good to say at this point, so I probably should say nothing at all.

I'm glad I didn't have to pay to see it.

Not much more to say. The few funny moments are rip-offs of movies like American Pie. The rest is like staring at a photo of a corpse with a lot of smiley faces drawn on it. The corpse, however, will be a lot happier than someone who had to watch this movie.

Halley Martin (Mandy Moore) is a high school student disillusioned with love. She rolls her eyes at her sister Ashley getting married. Her mother Lydia (Allison Janney) is unhappily divorced from her DJ father (Peter Gallagher) who is getting remarried. Her best friend Scarlett Smith (Alexandra Holden) is happily in love until her boyfriend Michael suddenly dies. She's reluctantly to love until Macon Forrester (Trent Ford) finally breaks down her defenses. Scarlett finds out that she's pregnant. Lydia starts dating Steve Beckwith (Dylan Baker).

This starts off as a pretty lame teen rom-com. When it takes an unexpected turn, the movie feels like it's ready to make a honest effort. It keeps trying but the lame teen rom-com continues to reappear. Trent Ford is not capable enough to be the lead. Mandy Moore needs a better partner who is deeper than some floppy hair. It's a struggle between a quirky indie and a more traditional teen movie. There is enough to make a passable movie. Allison Janney is a fun presence. The movie takes a few too many melodramatic turns. It doesn't all work but enough of it does.

Unfortunately this was one of the worst movies I have ever seen in my life. The script was awful. This movie felt like it had been completely recut at some point, because it didn't even make any sense. Two many characters, too many tragedies, not enough connection with the characters. I felt bad for the good actors trapped in this bad movie. Except for the male lead who was a very, very bad actor, though extremely cute.

This DVD features a look at the world of young adult literature (a plus), which made it easier to understand why this film really only gets a 6/10 from me. The movie is based after 2 young adult novels which deal with a young woman's relationships with friends and family, but more importantly, it deals (no pun expected) with getting used to different things in life: love, death, and many normal life changes. It is the start of many new teenage understandings, and this movie is good at seeing how universal and "common-day" some of these "problems" are for this girl.

Mandy Moore (this is the first film I've seen of hers) plays a cutie-pie role (like I've heard is every character she's ever played) so there wasn't much of a stretch. She actually does a good job at acting as this "character." I watched what she thought of her character on the DVD behind-the-scenes extras, and she thought that her character would more like to listen to indie artists than a geeky Mandy Moore record...props go to Moore to admittance. The rest of the actors/actresses did a fairly standard job at acting interested in being in a film with Mandy Moore...that's all, though.

So the movie is very average, touching on too many other films based on young adult novels without any kind of artistic license used. It would've been interesting in a different kind of light, I think, but from where it stands, rent it only if you're curious and don't mind the standard teenage girl film too much.

I went to see this movie with a lot of expectations. I happen to love Mandy Moore as an actress; in every role she has ever played. The last time I saw her playing a romantic role was in "A walk to remember", and she was gorgeous, so was the movie. Then I had the pros, Gallagher and Janney. There was also the idea of watching Mandy Moore with her hair cut, and other things more. In fact, the movie didn't disappoint me, but it wasn't amazing.

Maybe the reason is that I'm getting tired of straight-forward movies; and this was too straight-forward. Maybe the movie was too convenient for its own good; it's not like that in real life. How can a movie be showing us "how to deal" with real issues if we can't believe what's happening in it? In these films I try to be subjective, because you have to let go a little bit. Some of the things the movie was treating were alright. It happens to me: How can I have deeper feelings for a person I care about very much? It sometimes seems impossible, even unthinkable.

The plot was interesting, although it seemed to end in every scene, with beautiful and cheesy stuff. I couldn't believe all of it! When the problems arrived, I knew they were being solved in a couple of scenes. These were some of the things (including the weak script) I had to forget so I could enjoy the film; and I did. I enjoyed the chemistry between Mandy Moore (Halley) and Trent Ford (Macon); their love scenes and adequate acting. Maybe Mandy needs to choose better movies, but her performances are always decent. I enjoyed Alison Janney (Lydia) and her over the top scenes; she seemed comfortable in her role. I enjoyed Peter Gallagher (Len) and his eccentric smile, and I kind of fell in love (the translation of the title in Spanish is "Fall in love").

I should remind yo can see this movie just for the hilarious Nina Foch, in her crazy and lovable grandmother role. Fun!

I recently saw "The ring two" and gave it a 6 out of 10. "How to deal" is better than the previous film. It has a 6 because it doesn't deserve more for the kind of movie it is. A 7 was not possible.

There's always a romantic comedy in the cinema, and you have to see it. I liked "50 first dates" when it was the only romantic comedy in the cinema, and I liked "Maid in Manhattan" even more. I didn't like "How to deal" that much, but I'm glad I saw it.

My wife and I think "A Walk to Remember" is one of the best teen films ever made. We purchased the DVD and have watched it numerous times, treating guests to the movie and it NEVER fails to deliver. Best of all, it has a moral and we see the main character truly changed from a sort of "bad boy" to a decent, caring young man. Mandy Moore did a great job in that movie and almost branded a "Mandy Moore Movie" as one we could trust our pre-teen and teen daughters to go see and teach them a little something.

The foregoing is exactly why this movie was such a violation of our trust in Mandy Moore. The movie is full of gratuitous bad humor and sexuality with not a lot of plot. It runs superficial and comes nowhere near the depth and true caring that comes across in "A Walk to Remember." But, back to the unneeded scenes. We get what they are trying to do, but the ends do not justify the means. From the use of the F-word to the humping dog scene to the taking of the clothes scenes to the ridiculous treatment of teen pregnancy and even downright closeups of Mandy Moore wearing tight clothing and perfoming stretching exercises. It goes on and on, and I can't even comment on the last 45 minutes of the movie because WE WALKED OUT. Only the second time in our entire lives -- the other being Johnny Depp's "Cry Baby" over 15 years ago.

And we were ot the only ones to walk out. We wanted to walk out early, but stuck with it. Other families -- and mostly families were at this movie -- walked out before us. And when we walked out, at least two or three other groups walked out. Two teenage girls (age 16-19, we couldn't tell) walked out and we talked to them. They couldn't believe it and felt just as let down and cheated by Mandy Moore as we did. They couldn't believe how bad the movie was from the perspective of decency. Again, we understand the point, and we trust in the final 45 minutesof the movie it resolved itself and some moral came across, but getting there was all wrong.

Mandy Moore, we were huge fans and big believers in you, and even liked your attitude on your DVD commentary on "A Walk to Remember" -- but this ruined you for us. Now a Mandy Moore movie will not be seen without severe editing -- thank goodness there are companies beginning to edit movies of this kind of unneeded content. But, maybe, we'll just stay away from Mandy Moore altogether. What a bad career move for her.

New Line has sold this movie short and filed it as a Romantic Comedy but I must stress it is not. It's a teen drama with some romance and humor. Think of it as a teen version of American Beauty. Though it's all rather light, How to Deal does have some seriousness and important parts.

Mandy Moore (marry me?) is Halley Martin, a teenage girl who refuses to believe that true love exists (like me). Her best pal does but is heartbroken when her boyfriend drops dead on the football field of a heart defect (err...like me). Halley's parents have split and found others, her sister is engaged to some guy and all they do is argue. It seems like the best way to deal with love is to avoid it.

All that changes when Halley meets Macon (stupid name) a geeky Star Wars nerd. He seems like a dweeb at first but his character grows on you, as he does Halley. He's played by Trent Ford and on the cover he's wearing a white vest and is marketed as a sexually neutral, non-threatening pretty boy (Orlando Bloom, Justin Timberlake etc) but that ain't him or his character at all and he never appears in a vest at any point in the movie. I expected to hate him just because of the cover but that ain't so. In the course of her steadily strengthening relationship with Macom (really, what a stupid name!) Halley learns how to deal with teen pregnancy, being a bridesmaid, her dope-smoking grandmother, car crashes, stepmoms, stepdads etc. Stuff that every kid learns. Real kids, not the kids that make love to pastries or live in mansions, which are the only 2 types of kids Hollywood thinks exist.

Taken from 2 separate novels by Sarah Dessen called 'Someone Like You' and 'That Summer' it's possible that How to Deal might have a sequel. And if it does its literary roots guarantee it will a better sequel than most.

I recommend How to Deal for anyone who is sick to death of endless American Pie clones or Harold and Kumar or Maid in Manhatten/Laws of Attraction/Two Weeks Notice/Sweet Home Alabama/blah blah blah. It's not a romantic comedy, not by a long shot. It's far more realistic than that and it doesn't insult your intelligence. Give it a go.

The DVD is in great-looking 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby 5.1 sound. The extras are actually quite good for a change, one of them focusing on Young Adult Literature and it's definitely a good DVD for the price.

I loved this movie ! and mandy moore was very good .it's not the better movie that a saw but it was very great ! the story was original, actors ans actress was very very good ! the soundtrack of the movie is realy good too. so, I hope you will love this movie like me !! but, its for the people who like love stories !

But, I have serious hopes that she will choose better vehicles in the future. As much as I like her, by the end of this movie, I had the desire to duct tape her to a theatre chair while I extracted my fifteen bucks from her purse that I paid to see this train derailment of a teen flick. Andy, talk to her boy.