How to Deal

It's NOT a romantic comedy
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...

This Movie was good...
When I heard that Mandy Moore was starring in this movie, I immediatey found more info about it. I liked the discription but I didn't get to see it a the theater. I got the DVD for Christmas and I really liked it. I think that Sarah Dessen's two books are better seperately (especially Someone Like You), but then I think that about every movie that's made from a book. Books just have bettter detail. Mandy's character was well portrayed; Halley acted basically like a normal teenager. I really felt like I could relate to her. Scarlett (Alexandra Holden) was in a position that lots of teenage girls are in, and I really liked the issues in this movie. It looked at teenage sex realistically and tells it like it is. The romantic parts were fun to watch. I really liked Halley and Macon (Trent Ford) together. I especially think this movie would be good to watch if you are trying to deal with divorce or any of the issues in this movie because people can relate so well to the situations. This is...

Offensive Anti-Male Propaganda
This is a ridiculously overheated attempt to cast all guys in the same unflattering light. The reason I find it offensive, it is aimed at teenage girls and really provides them with a distorted view of men. Each male character in this movie is presented as a jerk, a wimp, a loser, etc, etc. Don't believe it, there are decent guys in the world.

On top of all that, the movie has no real narrative center. The main character (Mandy Moore) basically reacts to everyone else around her. We never get a feel for who she is, or why we should relate to her in any way. The side characters, while more interesting, are presented so haphazardly that they aren't well-developed either.

I'd give it one star, but Mandy Moore is cute and fun to watch.

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