Online: "How to Deal"
By Johanna Davy
July 20, 2003 9:00 p.m.
“How to Deal” ponders a question nearly every teen
(and college student) has been faced with: Can two people be
“friends with benefits,” (i.e. hook up) without
emotional attachment?
Mandy Moore plays Halley Martin, a young woman who finds herself
attracted to dreamy Macon Forrester (Trent Ford), but is reluctant
to get attached to him because she has seen what love can do to
people — her best friend is knocked up, her parents are getting
divorced, and her sister is engaged to a guy she’s always
fighting with.
Moore says that unlike her character, she herself is a firm
believer in love.
“I consider myself to be a romantic person … I believe
in soulmates and the institution of marriage,” said
Moore.
Despite a much publicized romance with tennis player Andy
Roddick, whom she says she is “mad about,” Moore says
she’s no relationship expert.
Moore also speaks highly of her co-star in the film, Trent Ford.
Ford ““ who claims he didn’t know who Moore was when he
first heard about the part ““ calls the experience of making
the movie “fantastic.” The actor is a Cambridge alumnus
who had a bit part in Robert Altman’s “Gosford
Park.” That he seems poised to become the summer’s new
teen idol, appearing in several magazines (he’s one of
YM’s top 20 hottest guys) gives him some pause.
“To be the “˜It Boy’ is a worry to me, because
it has a very transitory sort of overtone to it,” Ford
said.
Moore is no stranger to the fickle effects of stardom. Though
her music career may not have been as successful as those of fellow
pop princesses Britney Spears and Christine Aguilera, she has no
regrets as she prepares to release her third album in the fall.
“I’m happy that I’m still allowed the
opportunity to do music and film,” she notes. “It takes
persistence if you want to do anything in life.” She may be
only 19 years old, but it appears Moore is dealing quite well.
