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Can
You Deal?
by Robyn Tellefsen and Paul D. Rosevear
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| Mandy
Moore ponders life and love in How
to Deal. |
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You
can always depend on friends to help you deal!
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MANDY
MOORE'S got a lot on her plate. Not only is she balancing
movies with platinum albums, but her hectic lifestyle
is even sneaking into her movie roles! In How to
Deal (opening July 18th), Mandy plays Halley Martin,
a girl who's dealing with enough drama for her and Mandy
both. Halley's parents are divorcing, her father's eloping,
her sister's getting married, her best friend's pregnant,
and she's totally turned off to the concept of love.
Enter Macon Forrester (played by TRENT FORD), a quirky
but cool guy who tries to convince Halley that love
is worth the risk. Will he win her over in the end?
Well, we won't give that away... but we will give you
our thoughts on whether this movie will give you a heads
up on how to deal, or provide a game plan for what not
to do.
She
Says... Keep it Simple
I wanted to like this movie -- really, I did. It had
all the elements of a film I could dig: Family life,
tough issues, heartwrenching drama, a guy and a girl
-- the ultimate chick flick. But what this flat film
failed to do was deliver on any of those levels.
Ever
hear the saying, "Do one thing, and do it well?"
Well, the screenwriter should have heeded that sage
advice. There were too many plot twists, and not enough
character development to carry the weight of the drama.
But
as my college swim coach always said, "A smart
man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from
the mistakes of others." That's why How to Deal
is like a reverse lesson in college preparation (you
knew we'd bring this around to something educational,
didn't ya?!).
When
you're busy getting involved in various extracurriculars
to beef up your college applications, remember that
admission officers aren't impressed by your name being
on the roster of 20 different activities; they're impressed
by your participation in a few, in which you've demonstrated
effective leadership. Had the silver screen big-wigs
followed that advice, perhaps they could have prevented
making a movie that, as uttered by a reviewer at my
screening, "was the longest two hours of my life."
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| Communication
is key for getting through life's toughest ruts.
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He
Says... It's All About Expectations
Basically, I beat the movie to the punch. Though Robyn
was psyched about the prospect of heartwrenching drama,
a boy-meets-girl premise, and the struggles of romance,
I was naturally wary of such strong chick-flick tendencies
-- what dude wouldn't be? But the film surprised me
by taking the typical sappy teen love clichés
and tossing some controversial and interesting issues
(divorce, death, teen pregnancy) into the mix.
Though
I do agree with Robyn's claim that the film was a bit
ambitious in attempting to address so many pressing
social issues, the sheer fact that it incorporated edgier
scenes into what was clearly designed to be a 'teen'
movie was impressive. Tackling honest, and even slightly
uncomfortable topics provides a dose of reality that
can breathe life into the flimsiest of cheesy scripts.
You
can impress a hard-nosed professor in the same way by
taking risks and getting real in the academic environment.
Baring your soul in an essay, disagreeing with the majority
of your classmates, or challenging a professor's opinion
will show him or her that you aren't afraid to be honest
or take a stand. It might be scary, but as long as you
have smart, well thought-out, and intelligent arguments,
and you deliver them respectfully and with conviction,
you'll be sure to stand out from the pack.
One
thing we agree on: The soundtrack rocked, with hot artists
like LIZ PHAIR, THE DONNAS, JOHN MAYER (Robyn's personal
fave), and THE FLAMING LIPS. But while Paul thinks
the movie should get points for trying, Robyn says that's
not good enough. You decide.
Photos by Sophie Giraud/©2003 New Line Productions
Poster: ©
CMMIII New Line Productions Inc. HOW TO DEAL
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