Cheap Chasing Liberty (Widescreen Edition) (DVD) (Mandy Moore (II), Mark Harmon, Matthew Goode) (Andy Cadiff) Price

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Customer Reviews of Chasing Liberty (Widescreen Edition)

Great, Super Fun Flick
This is such a fun movie! After seeing Mandy in "How To Deal," I was a little hesitant about this movie. Don't get me wrong, Mandy is fantastic no matter what-- her screen presence is amazing, sincere, and every bit as great as those super famous A-list movie stars, but sometimes the film itself just isn't that good. "Chasing Liberty" is a breath of fresh air for Mandy fans and film fans alike. It's less about plot and more about character, which is so great I wish Hollywood would embrace witty dialogue over a burning building.

Mandy plays Anna Foster, daughter of the President. When her dad's "secret servants" ruin her lovely dinner date that she spent hours getting ready for, she rushes into the Oval Office declaring a little independence. They come to a truce-- When they are in Prague, she will get to attend a concert with just TWO agents, instead of the whole swarm. Unfortunately, you can't make the President promise anything, and when Anna learns that her dad did indeed send more agents than what they agreed, she hits the road with a hunky photographer. (Played by newcomer cutie Matthew Goode) So a massive chase ensues with the secret service attempting to keep tabs on Anna as she gallivants through Europe, enjoying the freedom she so desperately wanted.

There's alot to love about this movie-- Mandy is terrific, and Matthew Goode definitely delivers. There is also a cute side-story involving two agents, one played by the hilarious Jeremy Piven, who deserves much more screen time than he normally gets. Also-- some cool DVD features, including deleted scenes and bloopers (where we get plenty of Jeremy Piven!) Watch this one because you're bound to like this charming story.

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A nice re-telling of Roman Holiday
As a mid-30s guy, I'm not the intended audience for this film, but I was pleasantly surprised by it and cannot understand why the critics were not more kind to this movie. Chasing Liberty was a nice re-telling of the classic Audrey Hepburn movie Roman Holiday in a modern setting and although it was clearly aimed at the late teen girl demographic, it is clever enough to appeal to older audiences as well. Certainly both stars were comfortable with their roles (and I agree that Mandy Moore may have a future in more sophisticated movies). But I also thought that the plot held together remarkably well and there were several clever and subtle touches that I did not expect from this movie.

Other reviews on this site have detailed the plot, so I will not repeat that here. I will mention two aspects of the film that I thought were intelligent and surprising.

Throughout much of the film Mandy Moore's character (as Anna Foster, the president's daughter) whines about being freed of the shackles of her Secret Service detail. She feels like she has been sheltered her entire life and wants to experience all of the things that other teenagers do. The whining does get a little annoying at times, but it does make sense and her character is so likeable that it never goes too far. (One surprise is something that does _not_ happen in this movie--there is no subplot involving kidnappers or foreign agents trying to take her hostage. That would have degenerated into stupidity and cliche very fast, and probably would have seemed too ominous given the realities of modern politics.)

But the movie is smart enough never to completely take Anna's side in this. Near the end she is at a rock concert where some Americans recognize her and accost her. Things quickly get out of control and she is knocked down, but Ben, the Secret Service agent who she has been traveling with, rushes in and saves her and then delivers her to a helicopter. He tells her that she's safe, demonstrating what he was there for all along. The movie thus makes the point--without heavy-handed dialogue or gun-play--that she really does need somebody to watch over her. She is in danger not simply from terrorists or obvious threats, but from members of the public who recognize who she is and want to take out their frustrations on her. It was a clever solution because the normal cliche would be for Ben to rescue her from terrorists or take a bullet for her, but here he rescues her from some unruly drunks.

After this, we see her being more friendly with the Secret Service agents who she knows are there to protect her. At the very end of the movie, when Anna once again talks about "escaping" from her Secret Service detail, it's clear that she doesn't really mean it. She rides off with her guards safely behind. It is not a major plot point, but it demonstrates a certain level of maturity for her character.

I also enjoyed the romantic ending because the writers did their best to avoid a cliche while still giving the audience what they wanted. Of course everyone wants her to end up with Ben. But the movie made clear that this did not happen immediately. Their parting in Berlin and then their reuniting in London clearly happened at least five or six months apart. She went off to school, obviously gaining some life experience in the process, and then made the decision to seek him out. (It is worth noting that given their age differences--Anna is supposed to be 18 and Ben is supposed to be 23--it makes sense for her to gain a little perspective before rushing off to him. She has to decide if she really wants the older guy as opposed to the people surrounding her in college.) Once again the director used some subtle cues to indicate that she had matured a bit. Nothing major, but a soft touch with the writing that I found unexpected.

It was a bit of a surprise that it was her going to him. The typical cliche in romantic movies is for the guy to show up at the woman's door, telling her he cannot live without her. But in many ways this ending made more sense. After all, she was mad at him and it was really up to her to make the "grand gesture" as they called it. There was no way that he could have simply headed over to Harvard and dropped in on her. It was a sweet way to end the film without resorting to tired cliches.

Like I said, this was a pleasant film. I've watched a lot of junk on DVD lately, but this was surprisingly better than I expected and leads me to believe that Mandy Moore has a promising career ahead of her.

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hi, um does anyone know what song was playing where moore
and the french girl were in the club and there was a band playing