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MOVIE REVIEW
How to Deal
(2003)
Starring:
Mandy Moore, Trent Ford, Allison Janney
Director:
Clare Kilner
Rating: PG-13
Studio:
New Line Cinema
Release Date: 7.18.03
Review
Posted: 8.21.03
Spoilers:
Major
By
Christopher T. Bryan
"How to Deal"
Results in Romantic Tragedy
I can sum up
How to Deal very easily; it is the messy result of
combining an entire season of “insert any teen drama” (i.e
Dawson’s Creek) into an hour and forty one minutes. The
difference is that the teen angst often associated with these
types of movies has been liposuctioned out leaving a hollow
shell of a movie that shows the number of ways a teenager can be
tormented without ever really digging its’ nails into the
issues.
Let me give
you an idea of how ridiculous this plot is (major spoilers to
follow): Halley Martin (Mandy Moore) finds out that her parents
are getting divorced on the same day her sister announces her
engagement. Her father (Peter Gallagher) immediately announces
his plans to elope with a much younger office associate.
Halley’s best friend finds out that she is an expecting mother
who has been impregnated by her boyfriend who kicked the bucket
while kicking soccer balls. What effect does this entire trauma
have on Halley? Not much as far as I could tell except that she
decides that it would be best for her to swear off love. This
lasts for about ten seconds until Halley meets Macon (Trent
Ford) who looks spookily like Judd Nelson from around the time
of the Breakfast Club. During the unraveling of the film
the two fall in love, then out of love and then back into love.
(Time to let out long a exasperated sigh.)
If plot
points were part of one of those pick and choose salad buffets
then the filmmakers decided to take a bit of everything and toss
it with cheese. Eliminating some of the above mentioned
unrealistic situations would produce a movie that feels less
claustrophobic and might have given the actors the ability to
develop their characters rather than grimacing every time they
turn a corner and are faced with another messy ordeal.
The whole
love story theme could have worked even though stars Moore and
Ford look so much alike that they could be confused for sisters.
The couple’s endearing shared moments weren’t all that special
when set against the multi-tragic backdrop that has been
created, which had the effect of desensitizing me towards
tragedy. I wanted to yell at Mandy’s character “how can you be
concerned with falling in love when all of these other horrible
things are happening to you and your family?”
Moore’s
talents in front of the camera are developing; she is noticeably
more comfortable and confident, looking like a strong contender
as a future leading lady. Ford doesn’t quite achieve the lovable
loser role that he was reaching for; he speaks too breathily and
gives off the vibe that he thinks he’s the next hot thing.
Gallagher is out of place and ridiculous in the role of the
Halley’s father. Allison Janney (Halley’s mother) is the most
remarkable member of the cast as a woman who is torn up over the
sudden ending of her marriage while defending the very man who
is breaking her heart.
Improvement is achievable simply by taking the flimsy romance
between Halley and Macon out of center stage and focusing
instead on Moore’s character and how she deals with an extremely
unlucky streak. One last thought: how many more movies are going
to be made involving a pot smoking, sex crazed, or rapping
senior citizen? Enough already!
Rating:
ę
(out of 4)
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