Chasing Liberty Review
by Robin Clifford (robin AT reelingreviews DOT com)January 9th, 2004
"Chasing Liberty"
18-year old Anna Foster (Mandy Moore) just wants to be a normal, happy teen living in the good old USA. But, she is the first daughter of the President (Mark Harmon) of the United States and, though surrounded by Secret Service agents wherever she goes, she is a lonely young lady. When her father announces their upcoming trip to Budapest for a summit meeting, Anna (code name Liberty) sees this as the one chance to get away and act like everyone else in "Chasing Liberty."
Following an abruptly aborted date - the Secret Service over-reacts to a hidden camera and breaks up her romantic dinner - Anna cuts a deal with her Prez dad: She will attend the summit on the condition that she is allowed a bit of freedom, with only two agents assigned to shadow her. But, the protective and powerful father has no intentions of letting his only child roam free and he assigns a cadre of agents to cover her every move. That is, until Anna spots the small army and gets away with the help of a motor scooter-riding photographer, Ben Calder (Matthew Goode), without telling him who she is. Ben, though, has his own secret as the pair head off to run around Europe one step ahead of Anna's watchdogs.
When Anna and Ben allude agents Weiss and Morales (Jeremy Piven and Annabella Sciorra), the first daughter not only wants to smell life, she wants to taste it, too. Her first rebellious act is to skinny dip in the Danube (after having a few brewskis), much to Ben's chagrin. Ben, we soon find out, is an undercover Secret Service agent assigned to keep an eye on his ward, Anna. She doesn't know this as she samples the forbidden fruits of freedom for the first time. Her plan is to go to a love march in Berlin but she and Ben board the wrong train and end up in Venice. Slowly, their adversarial relationship changes to one of affection - until Anna learns Ben's secret.
"Chasing Liberty" is modern telling of that venerable William Wyler classic "Roman Holiday." Both films have a princess who is shouldered with the burdens of state and just wants to get away and be a normal girl. Each meets a stranger who helps spirit the lonely young woman away from her official duties and experience life at its fullest. In both cases, the stranger is not what he seems - Gregory Peck was a newspaper reporter looking for an expose in the '53 film, Goode is an undercover spy for the White House. In both films, the heroine and her "friend" see the sites and fall in love, with "Chasing Liberty" ending on a cliched "and-they-lived-happily-ever-after" note.
Mandy Moore, while I'm not a fan, does have the wherewithal to hold center stage, at least in this light-as-air comedy romance. She certainly shows a whole lot more acting chops than other pop stars who have tried to transition to the big screen. (Think of Britney Spears in "Crossroads" - it makes me shudder.) Matthew Goode is OK as the generic love interest with his good looks and British accent but doesn't cut a distinctive swath for himself with his generic handsomeness. Stealing the show are Piven and Sciorra as the dogged agents assigned to shadow Anna. They have a secondary romance that, often times, is more appealing than that of the film's stars - and funny, too. Mark Harmon does yeoman's work as the protective dad and leader of the free world. Caroline Goodall makes a splash as Anna's supportive first lady mom.
Techs are solid with lenser Ashley Rowe making good use of the many exotic locales - Budapest, Venice, Berlin, Washington D.C., London and Cambridge MA are all shown to beautiful effect. This is one of those films where the job of location spotter must have been a ball. I've been to all the cities mentioned and the filmmakers show them all in their best light.
For all of its derivative flavor, "Chasing Liberty" is an amiable little romantic comedy that should have a great deal of appeal to the 14- to 18-year old teen girl contingent that it aims for. I'm not a 14-year old teen girl but I can still see the charm that Moore has on her movie-going fans. The pop star turned actor, with her winning smile and pretty looks, has a certain charisma that will also appeal to teenaged boys, too, making this a decent date flick.
The cliche and derivative nature of "Chasing Liberty" make it a so-so beginning of the year entertainment. It should do well with its niche audience but I doubt it will appeal beyond the teen/young adult set. I give it a C+.
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