''How to Deal'' is a 2003 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by

Clare Kilner Clare Kilner is an English film director. She directed the films ''How to Deal'' (2003) and ''The Wedding Date'' (2005). Credit *''Saplings'' (1993, short film) * ''Half Day'' (1994, short film) * ''The Secret'' (1994, short film) * ''Symbiosi ...

and starring

Mandy Moore Amanda Leigh Moore (born April 10, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to fame with her debut single, "Candy", which peaked at number 41 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Her debut studio album, '' So Real'' (1999), recei ...

Allison Janney Allison Brooks Janney (born November 19, 1959) is an American actress. In a career spanning three decades, she is known for her performances across multiple genres of screen and stage. Janney has received various accolades, including an Academ ...

, and

Trent Ford Trent Ford (born January 15, 1979) is an American-born English actor and model. Early life and education Ford was born in Akron, Ohio. His father was a test pilot for the United States Navy, and his mother was a British Airways head stewardes ...

. The film is based on

Sarah Dessen Sarah Dessen (born June 6, 1970) is an American novelist who lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Born in Illinois, Dessen graduated from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Her first book, ''That Summer'', was published in 1996. She ...

's novels '' That Summer'' and '' Someone like You''.

Plot

Halley Martin is a 17-year-old high school student who is disillusioned with love after seeing many dysfunctional relationships around her. Her parents are now divorced and her father, Len Martin, a radio talk show host, has a new young girlfriend that the entire family despises. Her mother, Lydia, is now always alone while her sister, Ashley, is so overwhelmed by her upcoming wedding with Lewis Warsher that she barely exists in the house. The shallowness of all the teens at her school convinces Halley that finding true love is impossible. When Halley walks in on her best friend Scarlett having sex with her boyfriend, the high school soccer champ, Michael Sherwood, Halley tries to warn her of the complications that lie ahead. Ignoring her advice, Scarlett embarks on a summer fling with Michael. In the meantime, Halley must deal with Ashley and the rest of the Martins must deal with her soon-to-be in-laws, Lewis' overbearing Southern parents, who have an African American maid. In the meantime, Halley runs into classmate Macon Forrester, a slacker who never shows up for biology and is more interested in having fun than school work. He is Michael Sherwood's best friend. Then a few weeks later, Michael dies of a heart defect on the soccer field while Halley, Scarlett and other classmates watch helplessly. This event changes the lives of Halley and Scarlett forever. While Scarlett does her best to look beautiful for Michael at his funeral, Macon gives a moving speech about his friend. Struggling with Michael's death, Scarlett, at age sixteen, soon learns that she is pregnant with his child. With Halley at her side, Scarlett reveals the pregnancy to her mother. Halley's father, Len Martin, marries his mistress, Lorna, in a beach-side ceremony, with guests from all over the world, or "within his radio frequency", as Halley puts it. Halley and Macon eventually start a relationship. He takes her to his and Michael's favorite hangout and once come close to having sex. Halley and her mother get into an argument and on New Year's Eve that got her punished, Halley sneaks out with Macon to a party. Again, they come very close to having sex but this time Halley stops it and Macon is upset. On their way home, they are both upset and distracted and hit a tree. Halley gets a broken arm, but otherwise they both walk away from it unharmed, but Halley breaks up with Macon saying that she can't wait around for him to grow up. Later things go awry when Halley finds Ashley drunk on the family's front porch. Finding a male stripper's thong around her neck, Halley witnesses the break-up of her sister's engagement. She also learns that her mother sneaks out once a week to have sex with a man she met a couple of weeks previously, Steve. After another make-up, Lewis proposes to Ashley again, this time at a crowded airport: she says yes. On the day of Ashley and Lewis' wedding, Macon bursts into Len's radio studio, professing his apologies and love to Halley. He then heads to the wedding. On the way, he finds Scarlett, who insisted on walking to the wedding, going into labor on the side of the road. He puts her in the car and walks into the wedding, getting Halley's attention. The three rush to the hospital, leaving Scarlett's mother behind in the rush. While Scarlett is having her baby, Halley makes a list of all the little things she hates about Macon, the way his hair falls over his face, the way his voice gets low when he's serious, the way he bites his lip when he's nervous and the way his eyebrow twitches. Halley playfully uses Macon's 'Jedi Mind Trick' and they kiss and dance briefly in the hallway. The movie ends as Halley and Macon embrace and viewers see that Scarlett gave birth to a baby girl.

Cast

– Halley Martin *

– Lydia Williams Martin *

– Macon Forrester *

Alexandra Holden Alexandra Paige Holden (born April 30, 1977) is an American actress. Her credits include films such as '' Drop Dead Gorgeous'' (1999), ''Sugar & Spice'' (2001) and ''The Hot Chick'' (2002), and recurring roles in the television series ''Friends'' ...

– Scarlett Smith *

Dylan Baker Dylan Baker (born October 7, 1959) is an American actor. He gained recognition for his roles in the films such as '' Planes, Trains and Automobiles'' (1987), ''Happiness'' (1998), '' Thirteen Days'' (2000), '' Road to Perdition'' (2002), '' Spide ...

– Steve Beckwith *

Nina Foch Nina Foch ( ; born Nina Consuelo Maud Fock; April 20, 1924 – December 5, 2008) was a Dutch-born American actress who later became an instructor. Her career spanned six decades, consisting of over 50 feature films and over 100 television appea ...

– Grandma Halley Williams *

Peter Gallagher Peter Killian Gallagher (born August 19, 1955) is an American actor. Since 1980, he has played roles in numerous Hollywood films. He is best known for starring as Sandy Cohen in the television drama series '' The O.C.'' from 2003 to 2007, recu ...

– Len Martin *

Mackenzie Astin Mackenzie Alexander Astin (born May 12, 1973) is an American actor. Early and personal life Astin was born on May 12, 1973, in Los Angeles, California, the son of actress Patty Duke and actor John Astin. His brother is actor Sean Astin. He at ...

– Lewis Gibson Warsher II *

Connie Ray Constance Ray (born July 10, 1956) is an American actress and playwright. Among her highest-profile appearances are ''Thank You for Smoking'' (2006) and '' Stuart Little'' (1999), and the television drama '' ER'' (1997). She also appeared in '' ...

– Marion Smith * Mary Catherine Garrison – Ashley Renee 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 *

Bill Lake Bill Lake ( W.F. Lake) is a Canadian actor whose career began in Vancouver and who has appeared in many movies, television movies and series, stage plays and commercials. He has over 175 credits in a variety of productions since the 1970s. Caree ...

– Ed *

Charlotte Sullivan Charlotte Sullivan is a Canadian actress. Career Sullivan began acting professionally as a child. Her first on-screen role was an extra in a Liza Minnelli music video. She has had starring roles in the film ''Harriet the Spy'' (1996) and the ...

– Elizabeth Gunderson *

Philip Akin Philip Akin (born April 18, 1950) is a Canadian actor. Akin has had roles in major American films such as '' The Sum of All Fears'', '' S.W.A.T.'', and '' Get Rich or Die Tryin. He has also done much voice work, including voicing the characte ...

– Mr. Bowden * Claire Crawford – Seamstress *

Ennis Esmer Ennis Esmer (born December 29, 1978) is a Turkish-Canadian actor, comedian, voice actor, writer, producer and presenter. He is best known for his roles as Osman 'Oz' Bey in ''The Listener'', Kurtis 'Maz' Mazhari in ''Private Eyes'', Nash in '' ...

– Ronnie *

Thomas Hauff Thomas Hauff is an Austrian-born Canadian actor. He is most noted for his performance in the 1979 film '' Summer's Children'', for which he received a Genie Award nomination for Best Actor at the 1st Genie Awards in 1980."The Changeling boasts top ...

– Minister

Soundtrack

Track listing

#" Billy S." -

Skye Sweetnam Skye Alexandra Sweetnam (born May 5, 1988) is a Canadian singer, actress, and music video director. She first entered the music industry in 2003 with the release of her debut single " Billy S." More than a year later, her debut studio album, ''N ...

Do You Realize?? "Do You Realize??" is a song by the Flaming Lips, released as the first single from their 2002 album '' Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots''. It is widely considered to be one of the group's most accessible and popular songs. It reached No. 32 in th ...

" -

The Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, vocals), Derek Brown (k ...

#"It's on the Rocks" -

The Donnas The Donnas were an American rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1993. The band consisted of Brett Anderson (lead vocals), Allison Robertson (guitar, backing vocals), Maya Ford (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Torry Castellano (drum ...

Why Can't I? "Why Can't I?" is a song by American singer-songwriter Liz Phair. It was released on May 5, 2003, as the lead single from her self-titled album, ''Liz Phair''. It reached number 32 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, Phair's highest-charting single an ...

" - Liz Phair #" Wild World" -

Beth Orton Elizabeth Caroline Orton (born 14 December 1970) is an English musician, known for her "folktronica" sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit, Andrew Weatherall ...

#"Not Myself" -

John Mayer John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Mayer attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but left and moved to Atlanta in 1997 wit ...

#"That's When I Love You" -

Aslyn Heather "Aslyn" Mitchell Nash (born September 21, 1980) is an American pop singer and songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia. She released two full-length albums, ''Lemon Love'' and ''The Dandelion Sessions'', as well as a 4-disc EP. She is also the ...

#"Thinking About Tomorrow" -

#"Promise Ring" -

Tremolo In music, ''tremolo'' (), or ''tremolando'' (), is a trembling effect. There are two types of tremolo. The first is a rapid reiteration: * Of a single note, particularly used on bowed string instruments, by rapidly moving the bow back and f ...

#"Take The Long Road And Walk It" -

The Music The Music are an English alternative rock band, formed in Kippax, Leeds in 1999. Comprising Robert Harvey (vocals, guitar), Adam Nutter (lead guitar), Stuart Coleman (bass) and Phil Jordan (drums), the band came to prominence with the releas ...

#"Waves" - Marjorie Fair #"Surrender" - Echo #" Wild World" -

Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later i ...

Reception

Critical reception

The film received generally negative reviews. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, it received a 27% approval rating based on 98 reviews, with an average rating 4.6/10. The site's consensus states: "Soap opera for teens."How to Deal - Rotten Tomatoes
/ref>

Box office

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $5,809,960 million in 2,319 theaters in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

, ranking #8 at the box office. By the end of its run, ''How to Deal'' grossed $14,195,227 domestically and $112,905 internationally, totaling $14,308,132 worldwide.

References

External links

* * * *
Mandy Moore interview for ''How to Deal''
{{DEFAULTSORT:How To Deal 2003 films 2003 comedy films 2003 romantic comedy-drama films 2000s teen comedy-drama films American romantic comedy-drama films American teen comedy-drama films Films based on American novels Films based on multiple works of a series Films directed by Clare Kilner Films scored by David Kitay Films set in New Jersey Films shot in Toronto New Line Cinema films Teenage pregnancy in film 2000s English-language films 2000s American films