Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- wistful
- earnest
- sentimental
- teen movie night
- nostalgic romance viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film to be an overly sentimental teen soap opera with limited sophistication.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Halley distrusts love after observing divorce, dysfunctional relationships, shallow classmates, and her family's romantic instability.
Halley's parents are divorced, her father has a new girlfriend, and her mother lives alone, shaping Halley's view of intimacy.
A tragic accident leads Halley to meet Macon and changes her assumptions about the possibility of true love.
The plot combines high school romance, family conflict, tragic circumstances, and earnest emotional reversals in a heightened young-adult register.
Films like How to Deal, and why
The Last Song
teen coming of age romance centered on skepticism about relationships, emotional growth, and family complications
A Walk to Remember
young adult romantic drama balancing first love with parental conflict and difficult emotional circumstances
The Spectacular Now
high school romance with earnest sentiment, adolescent self-discovery, and family-oriented themes
Movie Details
- Director
- Clare Kilner
- Release Date
- 2003-07-18
- Runtime
- 99 min
- Rating
- 5.5 / 10 (170)
Cast
- Mandy Moore
- Trent Ford
- Allison Janney
- Alexandra Holden
- Dylan Baker
- Nina Foch
- Mary Catherine Garrison
- Connie Ray
- Mackenzie Astin
- Charlotte Sullivan
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Howdy Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is How to Deal about?
- A cynical high school girl’s carefully guarded view of love is challenged when an unexpected tragedy brings her into the orbit of an unusual new romance.
- What is How to Deal like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of How to Deal as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is How to Deal violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in How to Deal as mild.
- What did critics think of How to Deal?
- Critics broadly found the film to be an overly sentimental teen soap opera with limited sophistication.
- Which films are like How to Deal?
- Films with a similar feel include The Last Song, A Walk to Remember, and The Spectacular Now.
- How long is How to Deal?
- How to Deal runs 99 minutes.
- Where can I watch How to Deal?
- In United States, How to Deal streams on Howdy Amazon Channel.
