Tagline
Rule #1: There are no rules.
A lesson in love for non believers.
Plot
Halley’s (Moore) life isn’t all that. Her parents are divorced as a result of her father having an affair with a much younger woman. Halley’s mother (Allison Janney: also Ms. Perky in 10 things I hate about you) therefore hates not only him but all men. Halley’s sister is getting married. At least that is what she wants, but her family in law and circumstances aren’t really cooperating. Due to all these bad examples, Halley believes love or being in love is bad for your mental health and life ruining. And she is shocked when she finds her best friend in bed with a boy.
While Halley tries to stay away from falling in love and warns others against it she meet Macon (Trent Ford: very cute). He’s kind of rebellious and tries to charm her by being kind and helping her through some tough times. In spite of her theory, Halley of course falls in love with him.
In other words the plot is very cheesy. Also: during the film the scene don’t glide but jump from one to another, which can confuse to watcher. But it takes a very dumb person not being able to follow the plot of this film. Some of the conversations though are very witty. This is my favourite:
Step Mom: Well... look at you Halley!
Halley: Well, that's hard to do without a mirror isn't it?!
Step Mom: Honey, you keep getting prettier every day!
Halley: I have no idea how you could say that because you definitely don't see me every day. And yesterday, oh my god I was so ugly and last wed. That sucked too, so it's kind of a day to day thing.
Acting
Moore, Macon, Janney are definitely the better actors of the part. They put their characters down quite well. The father is convincing enough. But that’s all the positive comments there are to say about the acting in How to deal.
Verdict: You definitely need a bottle of wine or some other alcoholic beverage to get through this sugarsweet film. Don’t expect too much of the acting or the plot and you’ll have a nice and simple girlie film to watch on a warm summer night.