How to Deal (2003)

Director:

Clare Kilner

Writers (WGA):

Sarah Dessen (novels)
Neena Beber (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 July 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Rule #1 There are no rules.

Plot:

A teenager (Moore), disillusioned by too many examples of love gone wrong, refuses to believe that true love exists. Then this new guy (Ford) comes along...

Plot Keywords:

High School | Wedding | Dance | Mother Daughter Relationship | Bride

Cast

Mandy Moore	...	Halley Martin
Allison Janney	...	Lydia Martin
Trent Ford	...	Macon Forrester
Alexandra Holden	...	Scarlett Smith
Dylan Baker	...	Steve Beckwith
Nina Foch	...	Grandma Halley
Mackenzie Astin	...	Lewis Warsher
Connie Ray	...	Marion Smith
Mary Catherine Garrison	...	Ashley Martin
Sonja Smits	...	Carol Warsher
Laura Catalano	...	Lorna Queen
Ray Kahnert	...	Donald Sherwood
Andrew Gillies	...	Buck Warsher
John White	...	Michael Sherwood
Alison MacLeod	...	Sharon Sherwood

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual content, drug material, language and some thematic elements.

Runtime:

Philippines:99 min | USA:101 min | Argentina:102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Brazil:12 | Iceland:L | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39293) | Australia:M | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | USA:PG-13 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Birchmount Collegiate, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Focus Features

Trivia:

Mandy Moore cut her hair short because she felt it suited the role; the movie producers weren't happy about it. In the end they compromised and had her wear hair extension for some of the movie and then have her having her hair cut put into the film.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Halley is sitting with her grandmother on the bench in the backyard, the grandmother's right arm is around Halley's shoulder. The grandmother's hand jumps from 'cupping' her shoulder to hanging straight down in front of it to 'cupping' it again, depending on the shot.

Quotes:

Halley: Let's just think of the day my parents divorce went through as "Big Ugly Hat Day".

Movie Connections:

Featured in Trent Ford Profile (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Take the Long Road and Walk It

a star in her third trimester.

I was going to write a star is born in Mandy Moore, except that with this film, she is almost there..The film falls short, even Allison Janney doesn't show the acting strength she shows in the West Wing. But Moore is lovely, and has such an honest screen presence, that transfers to film amazingly --- Now, as she leaves those teen roles behind, she's bound to be an Oscar Winning actress --- she's gonna go all the way, you can see it in her eyes. I hope she keeps that humility, honesty and amazing soul... for the rest of her what I'm sure will be lenghty career.