How to Deal (2003)

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.

This movie is so very real. Real life! Mandy Moore does a good job of playing an angry teen. As you watch it You see things through her eyes. The balance between humor and life's hard times is perfect. I would recommend it. If does deal with issues that are adult or older teen. so PG-13 is a good rating. Again I just want to say how blown away I was by this simple movie. It is so under appreciated and unnoticed. I read the two books it was based on. They are pretty good and also deal with real issues. Some of which are in the film, but the movie blows both books away by far. I love the grandma! Halley (Moore) is not only named after here grandma but has her humor.

How to Deal is the tale of a girl, played by Mandy Moore, who doesn't believe that falling in love is a good idea because her parents are divorced, her friend is knocked up by a dead guy, her sister fights with her fiancée and her father is marrying a woman half his age. So let's rate this on the point system, one point for each good thing and one point subtracted for each bad thing. 1. Hot outfits: short shorts, plaid shirt, funeral outfit (3 points) 2. Peter Gallagher appears (1 point) 3. Flaming Lips song, "Do You Realize?" even though it's played at a very inappropriate moment (1 point) 4. Two make-out scenes that ruin Mandy's image. (-2 points) 5. Mandy explaining that she is nothing like the character she is playing, giving her credit for #4... (1 point) 6. Star Wars references: Jedi Mind Trick, posters, figurines, movie theater, light sabers (-5 points) 7. Blatantly obvious endorsements of Coca-Coca and Krispy Kreme (-2 points) 8. Pot-smoking Grandmother (1 point) 9. Mandy reads Flaubert's "Madame Bovary" (1 point) 10. Mandy reads "Our Bodies, Ourselves" (-1 point) 11. Gone With the Wind reference, oddly about "Ashley" and not about "Scarlett" (regardless, that movie is atrociously awful) (-1 point) 12. John Mayer song (1 point) 13. Running a Stop Sign, like Bubb Rubb (1 point) 14. Ugly outfits: doily shirt, black and white stripes (-2 points) Point total: -3 points Conclusion: It's still a Mandy Moore movie, so the points don't count and it's automatically worth watching. :)

*Don't worry, No spoilers!* I loved this movie. Of course when I saw it I wasn't expecting anything really life changing, so you shouldn't either. It is just a fun film that is perfect for a teenage audience. I couldn't believe it was on the $5.50 rack at Walmart! If you're not into teen dramas then I don't recommend this film, but if thats your bag then go for it! It reminded me of the movie "Saved!" mixed with a little bit of "Say Anything". Trent Ford is unbelievably cute in it, which led me to renting the film "Deeply" which is also a very romantic movie. I do recommend you to keep a box of tissues on hand, I cried like a baby at one point. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!