How to Deal

How to Deal (2003) Cynical seventeen-year-old Mandy Moore has seen love gone wrong too many times in her own family that she refuses to believe it exists in her when a boy (Trent Ford) takes interest. Unlike a high-school-movie-of-the-week, this is a surprisingly thoughtful, sometimes contrived film that takes concern to serious teen issues, but it tries to deal with too much at once. Moore turns in another unaffected, appealing performance, and Allison Janney is a winner as Moore's divorced mother. Based on the young adult novels Someone Like You and That Summer by Sarah Dessen. Running Time: 101 minutes and rated PG-13 for sexual content, drug material, language, and some thematic elements. ** ½