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How to Deal | 2003 | PG-13 | - 5.3.5

Mandy Moore stars as Halley, a young woman who's disillusioned with love after experiencing her parents bitter divorce and the dysfunctional relationships around her. Convinced that love is either ridiculous or painful, Halley tries not to fall in love while a young man tries to change her mind. Also with Trent Ford, Dylan Baker, Allison Janney and Peter Gallagher. Directed by Clare Kilner. [1:41]

SEX/NUDITY 5 - A young woman and a young man are having sex when another young woman bursts into the room interrupting them: we do hear rhythmic panting and moaning, see the young man bare to the waist and the young woman covers herself with a sheet. A young man and a young woman kiss and caress each other and begin removing their clothing; we see him bare-chested, she takes off her top and has a T-shirt underneath. A young woman lies on a bed, a young man joins her, they kiss, he touches her abdomen under her shirt, she climbs on top of him, she removes her top and we see her in a bra and he takes off his shirt and we see him bare-chested. Many people are shown kissing and holding each other in a party scene. A man and a woman kiss in several scenes, and a young man and a young woman kiss in many scenes. Also a young man and a young woman flirt in several scenes. A young woman has a pair of men's underwear around her neck (from a stripper at her bachelorette party). A young woman stands on her head and her bare abdomen shows when her top slips, she is also wearing shorts that reveal her bare legs. A woman talks about her ex-husband not being able to "keep his pants zipped," a young woman talks about her mother sneaking out of the house to have sex with a man, and a young woman talks about a young man and says "I like kissing him." There are several discussions between young people about having sex and what sex might mean to them (casual sex vs. love). A young woman tests herself for pregnancy and two young women read about the symptoms. A dog mounts a woman's leg and she talks about it later.

VIOLENCE/GORE 3 - A young man collapses on a soccer field and we hear that he died from a heart defect. A car swerves to avoid an oncoming car and crashes into a tree: we see a young woman unconscious in a hospital bed with a bruised face. We see people grieving at a funeral. A man and a young man struggle over a microphone and the man is shoved back into his chair. A young woman goes into labor and we hear her moaning and see her doubled over in pain. We hear about an elderly woman having fallen. A woman pounds on a soda machine that took her money but did not give her a soda. A young man and a young woman argue in a few scenes. We see urine in many cups.

LANGUAGE 5 - 2 F-words, 2 sexual references, 3 scatological terms, 1 anatomical term, 6 mild obscenities, 17 religious exclamations.

SUBSTANCE USE - People are shown drinking alcohol and smoking tobacco; one young woman is shown intoxicated. An elderly woman is shown smoking marijuana in several scenes.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Marriage, divorce, love, first love, friendship, romantic relationships, teenage pregnancy, death, infidelity, trust, loneliness, normality, hate, Civil War, honor, chivalry.

MESSAGE - Life and love are meant to be chaotic, so don't be afraid to fall in love.

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


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