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How to Deal

EMAILPRINTNew Line Cinema

How to Deal reviews
45
7.1 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 29 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 12 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Romance

Written by: Neena Beber
Sarah Dessen (novels Someone Like You and That Summer)

Directed by: Clare Kilner

Release Date:
Theatrical: July 18, 2003
DVD: December 9, 2003

Running Time: 109 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: PG-13 for sexual content, drug material, language and some thematic elements

Starring Mandy Moore, Allison Janney, Alexandra Holden, Peter Gallagher, Trent Ford, Dylan Baker, Mackenzie Astin, Mary Catherine Garrison, and Connie Ray

The story of 17-year-old Halley Martin (Moore), who has been convinced by the outrageous relationships around her that the whole concept of true love is vastly overrated. (New Line Cinema)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

75

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Moore makes Halley's awakening organic and touching. In an age when most teenagers are up to their eyeballs in postmodern consumer glitz, her movies seem radical not just in their retro squareness but in their unfashionable embrace of faith over ironic flippancy.

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75

Chicago Tribune Ellen Fox

This is a movie whose title promises to show teenage viewers how to cope with the messed-up, grown-up world they are entering, not how to make it perfect -- or even how to make sense of it.

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75

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

There's pleasure to be had in a film that suggests teen life can be hard without necessarily being tragic.

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70

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

There's a surprising intelligence and gravity working beneath its bubbly surface, informed by an unusual degree of empathy for its adolescent audience and a rare willingness to confront the darker regions of youth experience.

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70

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Janney's role is smaller than Moore's, but it's hardly insignificant. Moore has youth on her side, and youth is timelessly appealing. But Janney is the bigger, more memorable presence, and she's much more fun to watch.

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63

Premiere Alexis Mersel

The handful of comic moments will serve up a few good laughs.

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63

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Isn't that good. But Moore is.

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60

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

Works up some genuine emotion offset by occasional humor and creates individuals of a certain degree of complexity, but the film is glazed over with an aura of artificiality.

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60

Village Voice Laura Sinagra

As Mom, Allison Janney easily dominates every scene she graces, as does Morning Zoo jock papa Peter Gallagher.

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50

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

This movie is the worst episode of ''Gilmore Girls'' ever.

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50

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

I watched the movie with interest, yes, but not emotional involvement, and my appreciation of Moore was based more on her essence than on her character.

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50

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

Disposable teen romance.

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50

Dallas Observer Bill Gallo

Competently if unremarkably directed by Englishwoman Clare Kilner, should prove compelling enough to Moore's huge legion of fans.

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50

Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones

It’s just too much drama for one modest film to service adequately. In an effort to cram it all in, scenes abruptly jump from one to the next with nary a smooth transition in sight, relationships evolve far too quickly, and certain subplots drop out of the mix only to resurface, jarringly, much later.

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50

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

The pop diva goes down with the bubbles in this hopelessly shallow soap opera.

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50

New York Post Jonathan Foreman

The sad truth is that TV series like "Dawson's Creek" do a better job with precocious teen dialogue.

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50

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Director Claire Kilner and screenwriter Neena Beber don't walk the tightrope between comedy and drama skillfully enough to make either aspect work as well as it should.

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50

San Francisco Chronicle Carla Meyer

A thoughtful but uneven teen picture, also has too much going on.

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50

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

Mostly honest in its portrayal of teen sexuality -- it exists, whether we like it or not -- but also offers up the troubling notion of teen pregnancy as romantic and magical.

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42

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Paula Nechak

Kilner and crew cough up a mish-mash of contrasting tones and tempos and wind up a rather odd, misshapen curiosity that wavers into too many styles to avoid a slow death by overkill.

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40

LA Weekly Hazel-Dawn Dumpert

How much can one girl grapple with over the course of an hour and a half?

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40

Variety David Rooney

A bland romance that suffers from choppy development, dramatic overload and dearth of personality.

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38

USA Today Claudia Puig

Moore and Ford rise above the hackneyed story, infusing the proceedings with their own chemistry and appeal. If only the adults responsible for this film could learn how to deal.

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38

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

Unlike pop rival Britney Spears, Moore does project star quality on the screen, but she gives Halley an edge of nastiness that makes her harder to empathize with than she should be.

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38

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) James Adams

Just the umpteenth replay of the girl-meets-boy/boy-loses-girl/boy-gets-girl story.

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30

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

Another soundtrack-driven, disposable, not entirely objectionable teen movie.

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25

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Embodies all that's wrong with the sellout culture of Hollywood.

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20

TV Guide Angel Cohn

To call this scattered and cliché-ridden film less-than-cohesive would be generous, and Moore lacks the ability to imbue hackneyed dialogue with resonance.

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20

Washington Post Desson Thomson

A bad, unimaginative story posing pretentiously as the very opposite.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 7.1 (out of 10) based on 12 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Woutielion gave it a3:
This movie sucked. It wennt from one scene to another and Malcom isn't even an believable actor. there is no real story line. It goes from all different topics. Just stuck to one topic and then show the character's emotions.

Taea gave it a10:
It was great. I cant stop watching it. Ive probably seen it 5o yimes. It's a great story the reviews arae a total lie.

La Shanay F. gave it a 10:
I loved it! It reminds me of me and my boyfriend. Mandy Moore is my role model.

Lindz R. gave it a 10:
LOVED IT.

Kortney J. gave it a 10:
This is such a good movie!It is funny and it as drama. I love this movie and I think Mandy Moore is nothing but great! If you do not like this movie you are crazy!

E. R. gave it a 10:
This was a totaly cool movi, i think that this movi had something to say,but the end is like an open one,you don“t know what will become from the boy and girl -will they stay togther or not,but in other way,it tells a beutiful story of true love ,what everyone of as is searching for...

Spriggangirl gave it a 0:
This is not your everyday life to be a teenager one of these days.I'm sorry to say this,but,it sucks and they should make it how to fight instead of how to deal.You got that?

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