Neena Beber's screenplay, adapted from Sarah Dessen's novels "Someone Like You" and "That Summer," revolves around 17-year-old Halley Martin (Mandy Moore) who at a tender age has already written off love as a fraud. No wonder. Her parents, Lydia (Allison Janney) and Len (Peter Gallagher), have just completed a divorce, her sister Ashley (Mary Catherine Garrison) is fighting regularly with her fianc‚ Michael (John White), her best friend Scarlett (Alexandra Holden) is emotionally crushed when tragedy befalls her boyfriend. Halley is tempted to quit the anti-love league when chased by school- mate Macon (Trent Ford). In the tradition of romantic comedies, the two are off-again, on-again, until the predictable close of the story.

The inevitable gropes are quite a bit tamer than what you'd expect from the rash of "American Pie" films, making the pic most suitable to the young women who adored "The Lizzie McGuire Story," some of whom are likely to be disappointed when comparing "Deal" to that one--given the deficiency of colorful characters such as the school principal who leads a group tour of Italy unless you get your kicks from watching granny toking up and saying embarrassing things at a formal dinner.