“Chasing Liberty” is the latest of the always-emerging teen flicks. This ever-present and popular genre of movies is full of good-looking young actors, minimal plots and mediocre acting. Although “Chasing Liberty” falls into this category, it manages to be among the better ones.
“Chasing Liberty,” starring Mandy Moore (“How To Deal”), follows Anna Foster, the U.S.’s First Daughter, on a self-discovering journey through Europe. As the daughter of the president, she lives a sheltered life, with bodyguards following her every move. Feeling smothered by the lack of freedom, the rebellious Anna begs her presidential pop (Mark Harmon, “Summer School”) for some freedom.
On a family trip to Prague, Anna finally gets her reluctant father to agree to a night on the town with only two agents, Weiss (Jeremy Piven) and Morales (Anabella Sciorra). When Anna discovers her father sent out more agents and broke his promise, she takes matters into her own hands. Angry with her father, she escapes and ditches her bodyguards, enlisting the help of sexy stranger Ben Calder (Matthew Goode, “Al sur de Granada”). From here she and Ben begin their European adventure from Prague to Venice to Berlin, and Anna never realizes that Ben is secretly an agent assigned to watch her by her father. Their ensuing journey involves romance, narrow escapes from the police and plenty of long sultry glances.
The film’s director Andy Cadiffi, who has previously directed and produced television’s “Home Improvement” and “Spin City,” follows the romantic comedy formula closely: boy meets girl, boy lies to girl, and girl forgives him. Although it follows closely along this predictable path, it’s still an enjoyable movie. If you don’t like predictable, or if your girlfriend drags you to the movie, you can still count on beautiful scenery. Cadiffi takes you on a gorgeous tour through Europe and always stops to appreciate the backdrop.
Moore, whose most recent role was Haley in the horrible “How to Deal,” plays a convincing First Daughter. She avoids the common pitfalls of the singer-turned-actress starring in teen flicks by avoiding loading the soundtrack with all her own songs and doing a surprisingly good acting job. She falls comfortably into her role as the charming yet goofy Anna.
Goode is also believable as a handsome, brooding romantic interest. Although Moore and Goode have a quirky chemistry, it doesn’t quite evoke sparks. The more convincing and amusing subplot involves Weiss and Morales as Anna’s secret service agents who not only exchange playful banter while trying to chase her through Europe, but also ignite romantic sparks. Jeremy Piven (“Serendipity”) and Anabella Sciorra (“The Sopranos”) add a very comical secondary plot that is more believable than the main plot, in part because it is between two seasoned actors. Jeremy Piven has perfected the art of perfectly timed one-liners. He brings a lot of fun to the movie and adds some depth to an otherwise boring plot.
Chasing Liberty is an enjoyable way to spend two hours. This movie will never be critically acclaimed, but those are not its intentions. This movie is light and fluffy and doesn’t try to be anything more than it is. Although you won’t leave this film feeling intellectually stimulated, you’ll feel thoroughly entertained.
Grade: B
