Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
How to Deal, July 16, 2003
Not another teen movie? *groan* I expected to see a slightly cheesy teen flick when I walked into the private screening of How to Deal. You know the type. There's always the popular girl who's a real witch, a choreographed dance scene at the prom, and the popular guy who falls for the quirky lead girl. Well this was NOT that movie. If I were to compare this film with any others I would say it had a little bit of Breakfast Club, For Keeps, and Sixteen Candles (classic 80's Molly Ringwald movies). How to Deal is an honest film with 3-dimensional characters and a solid story that holds your interest and is generous with the laughs. Any generation can relate to this film through the colorful cast of characters. There is the pot-head (and I use this term loosely) grandma, played by Nina Foch, who is absolutely hilarious. There's the recently divorced cynical mom who is still bitter about losing her husband to a younger woman, yet not so unforgiving as to make her unlikable. Allison Janney is so real as this character, I felt as if I knew her. Then there's the `classy' older sister who is marrying a nerd from an uptight southern family. Let's not forget the bad boy who has a sensitive spot when it comes to the right girl, and the idealistic best friend who tries to 'deal' with everything life throws at her with cheerful resolve but only manages to do so because of her best friend, Halley--which brings us to the lead. Mandy Moore's natural acting talent shines through in this character. She's a disillusioned girl afraid of falling in love because she's seen how love can hurt; yet she is coming into her own and wanting to embrace it. She's the rebellious teen with a spunky style that captures the ideal 'retro' look most teens are trying for these days. Sliding comfortably into this character, Mandy Moore rises to the level of a star. Out acting some of the most famous stars of today and definitely outshining them in looks department as well. What I didn't expect to see was so much humor and at the same time honesty which takes this film to a whole new level. I would have liked the film to be longer. It covered everything from childbirth- to dying young- to weddings- to divorce- to drugs- to love and more. At times I felt a scene should have gone on a little longer, but with so many subjects to cover sometimes saying less really communicates the most. I've saved the best for last. The directing. Clare Kilner directs this fabulous cast of characters and tells this story with humor, honesty, and a deep poignancy that you may mistake How to Deal for an early John Hughes flick. There's a bright future in store for Ms. Kilner and How to Deal says it loud and clear. There's a new girl in town and she's taking over. And I'll be there to watch her next one because there's no way I would miss it.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
great, original, touching, fun, amusing, honest movie, August 1, 2003
By A Customer
This is so much more than your typical, cliche teen movie. I didn't know what to expect before seeing it, but I was very pleasantly surprised. What's ironic is that the thing that makes this movie so good is, at the same time, what holds it back from being a more realistic, believable and better movie that it could have been. What makes this intriguing and different is the issues that it encompasses. Realistic issues such as death, injury, pregnancy, etc. But there are a series of events (tragedies) that occur that would have been better left out, for instance, the death and car accident. It was just too much to cram into one movie to make it believable. Had the death occurred beforehand and was simply mentioned; that would have smoothed out the plot a lot. Now for what I liked about the movie. First, Mandy Moore does an excellent job portraying Halley. She has such an ease in front of the camera and is so easy to believe. The supporting cast (consisted of many prominant actors) does a great job creating the backbone of the story. The music was done almost perfectly to match the emotion of each scene. The 'small-town' feel adds a lot to the movie. It adds a warmth and character to the story. The plot of the movie is also very well written, although there were a few cheesey moments. There is a lot of depth to the story; it's very different from many teen movies in that it has many sad aspects and is quite complex. I think the thing that makes this movie is the characters. They are each intriguing, complex, and yet believable. You can relate to these characters and feel as if you know them, because you probably do. This is an honest movie about things you go through in life and have to deal with; it's reality. I'd highly recommend anyone to see it.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's NOT a romantic comedy, March 5, 2005
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 Macon (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.
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