Review of How to Deal (2003) by Michael D — 27 Dec 2007

I feel the same way about "How to Deal" as Mandy Moore's character in the film feels about love: I don't think I'm going to like it, and I don't expect to think anything of it, but for some reason, I chose to watch it, and for some reason, it wasn't bad.

I'm not a big fan of the concept of "love." I guess that wouldn't show with how I gave "Pretty Woman", "Love Actually", and "While You Were Sleeping" all four stars, but we can skip that fact for a second to prove a point. In all actuality, I find myself questioning if love is real...period. And right now, at this point in my life, I'm leaning toward the "no" side of the spectrum.

And maybe that's why I liked "How To Deal" enough to give it a slight reccomendation. Mandy Moore's character feels the same way. She doesn't believe it is anything but evil. And when it comes down to it, she's right. But that "evil" that she despises so much, that is seemingly ruining the lives around her, actually overcomes her, and the development of that doesn't seem phony or random.

Now, the film does cheat, when it steals elements from other films over and over again. Mandy Moore's speech at the end came directly from "10 Things I Hate About You," and for ONCE, in ANY MOVIE, I beg of a film maker to chose SOMETHING other than small pebbles for a lust-filled boy to throw at the window of his sex..er...love ...interest. A chainsaw, a TV remote, a stapler, ANYTHING other than those damn small pebbles. How many movies have I seen that in? Even if they don't want to get creative enough to use one of the items I just mentioned, they could atleast make the rock a little bigger--like a boulder or something. Who wouldn't be overcome with delicate, love-induced emotion at a broken window done by surprise, surprise! your boy toy, who, by the end of the movie, will no doubt, be spinning you in a circle sucking on your mouth. And "How To Deal" also has some poor acting and script writing, but it's right there above average for me, and I guess that's because of just how well it was acted by its principles. Like I said earlier, not all of the performances were great, but the mediocre performances existed in spurts that were easily forgettable and by minor characters only. The leads were fantastic. Mandy Moore is proving herself to be one of today's finest young actresses, with this and "Saved!" And the actress that played her best friend was wonderful, and the actress who played her mother, and the actor who played her father, and the actress that played her grandmother, and and and and and and and and. The main performances, surprisingly, kept the film together in the midst of cliches. But also, it was probably more than that. I think that the film reached a sort-of realness. It delt with divorce, teen pregnancy, marijuana, and it never felt like an after school special.

The cynical attitude of Mandy Moore's character was very enjoyable, and she played it well. And by the end, it may not make those non-believers believe in love once more, but it certainly may make them CONSIDER it, even if its just for a second or so. And by the end, the film isn't spectacularly well-made or fantastically wonderous, but it is certainly fun, funny, and remotely inspiring. It could have been a lot worse, and I guess, at that, it could have been alot better, but it did what it set out to do just well enough for me to give it a reccomendation. The inner film critic in me is begging me to do otherwise, but I gotta say, if someone asked me if they should see "How To Deal," I'd give them a "yes." And then I'd encourage them to write a letter to the director with a list of new item ideas to chunk at lovers' windows.