Rating: 
Summary: Come on, you know you like it.
Review: Let me just start off with yes, I love romantic fluff, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. This was a great piece of romantic fluff to watch on a lazy afternoon. It wasn't boring, the lead characters looked good, and it had a great soundtrack. Sure, you could drive a Mac truck through the plot holes, and I'd be pretty scared if the secret service was as dimwitted as they were in this movie, but it still did not take away from my enjoyment of the movie. If your a realist and hate quality cheese, save your time and money, and don't watch this movie. However, if you're like me and like happy endings, cute kisses, and leaving reality back in the real world, you may just enjoy this flick too. Good job, Mandy Moore and Matthew Goode!
Rating: 
Summary: A nice fun movie; the critics have been unfair
Review: If you are tired of movies filled with computer graphics, tired of movies filled with explosions and destruction, tired of movies of teens doing things that will get them arrested, tired of movies about people with "real life problems", Chasing Liberty is a delightful, lightweight, fun (and funny), escapism movie that leaves you feeling good at the end. Yes the plot is a bit implausible and limited, but that is the fun of this movie. Mandy Moore is wonderful as Anna Foster, only daughter of U.S. President Foster, who is tired of living in a bubble. She wants to be a real teenager and experience life and love. Anna escapes the bubble, while on a state trip to Czech Republic, with the aid of someone (Matthew Goode), who turns out not to be who she thinks. Mandy has amazing talent for her age, and is set to be a superstar actress in the near future. She does not deserve to still be titled as a "pop princess" anymore. She is an actress in her own right, who can sing. She fills the screen with her personality and presence, definitely a star. The movie extends her skills requiring acting during action scenes. Goode's character as a British secret service agent (not clear how) is underutilized.
Chasing Liberty and Mandy Moore have been unfairly savaged by the "critics". It is a beautifully shot, nice, fluffy and fun movie and should be seen by those who want to escape from real life for a couple of hours. If you do not, there are plenty of alternatives.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Adorable Movie
Review: Mandy Moore shines in this delightful movie. She has such an undeniable presence and just makes you love her. Matthew Goode is a newcomer that gives that glint every once in a while of a young Hugh Grant... he definitely has potential and is quite adorable too. Sure the story at times has some plot holes... but this was meant as a feel good movie to escape reality - who doesn't wish they could run away to Europe and meet a handsome stranger? Mark Harmon, a fine actor, was grossly miscast for this role though... sometimes it's almost painful to watch him. Jeremy Piven is hilarious - has great chemistry with Annabella Sciorra and he's incredibly funny throughout the movie. The only thing missing is a Soundtrack - where is it? There is some great music on this movie - especially Caroline Lost's "To Be With You" that you simply cannot find ANYWHERE. Please do us a favor and release a soundtrack for this movie. :)
Rating:
Summary: Better than most attempts at Brain Fluff
Review: I love brain fluff. Nothing to heavy, not much thinking required. Not left thinking, why did I just waste 2 hours of my life?
Chasing Liberty was pretty funny. Its not meant to be a serious movie in the literal meaning. Its meant to light, fluffy, just like a milky way chocolate bar.
I thought Moore and Goode put in good performances. How lovely is his accent btw.
The 2 bumbly SS Agents were great too!
Mark Harmon as POTUS though.......... I can only see him as SS Agent Sunshine, I mean Donovan from the West Wing S3. I love the locations
All in all, I enjoyed it.
Rating: 
Summary: Wow...It was bad
Review: Okay, so I took a risk. I'm not a tiny-bopper or a youngster, but I do love romantic comedies. So, I decided to take a risk on this film. The previews made the film look wonderful. I am not a fan of Mandy Moore, but this did look like a good movie. So, I took the plunge. Well...let's just say that I wish I could dry myself after this ridiculous movie. The situation starts off with Anna Foster, overprotected daughter of the President of the United States (played (lol) by Mark Harmon of all folks). After a date that goes horribly wrong when the Secret Service agents assigned to protect her mistake an innocent gesture by her dates friends. They think he is reaching for a gun when in actuality he is reaching for a camera. Anna craves freedom and senses an oppurtunity on an upcoming diplomatic trip to Prague. Strangely, the President takes his daughter and wife along...making this a family visit. During the trip, Anna meets up with a prominent diplomatic daughter, who is definitely wild and crazy. She introduces Anna to the hip and happening Prague party scene. At the party, Anna meets Ben, who seems to be a free wheeling Euro guy. But, he is actually a Secret Service agent assigned to protect her. Okay, so you got the plot. Basically this movie is nothing but a modern day Roman Holiday. Unfortunately, it doesn't hold any of the flair. Anna whines throughout the movie. Ben is typically a stoic English man, but they don't have an ounce of chemistry. Though, don't get me wrong. He is good lucking. Ultimately, the movie was really bad. I kept watching because I was too sleeply to turn it off. That should tell you something. So, watch at your own risk.
Rating:
Summary: A cute movie
Review: ....with beautiful scenary. Mandy Moore is entertaining as the president's daughter, and Piven is always funny as a secret service agent. A fun, fluff movie.
Rating:
Summary: A nice re-telling of Roman Holiday
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: totally unrealistic
Review: I appreciate that movies are a break from reality but Chasing Liberty takes too many liberties to make it watch-able. The chance that the President's daughter would be allowed to sneak around through Europe by herself is totally unbelievable. Many Moore does a decent job with the role but her whining proves to be pretty painful. I wouldn't watch it again.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun, but too bad they didn't "Chase" after a better script
Review: I actually think Many Moore is a good actress. In time, many of you may come to agree with me, if you don't already. In the film "A Walk to Remember" I thought she was absolutely wonderful. In her next project "How to Deal", I thought Mandy was good in it, but the movie was one of the worst films of 2003. It was a werid hybrid. I wasn't sure if it wanted to be a drama or a teen comedy. And because of that right there, that makes it a bad movie. Its intentions are not clear. But "Chasing Liberty" is a nice recovery for Mandy Moore. This is the lighthearted, commerical, mainstream teen comedy we were expecting "How to Deal" to be. Not the depressing "Crossroads" carbon copy it turned out to be. "Chasing Liberty" mostly works because of its stars. In particular Mandy Moore. She just seems to glow on-screen. She has a very natural presence to her. And there are moments when this "Roman Holiday"-ish movie for the kiddies demonstrates Moore's ability. The movie has Moore playing Anna Foster, the President's daughter. And she is fed up with the secret service, consisting of Jeremy Piven and Annabella Sciorra, taking away her freedom and not allowing her to lead the life of a "normal" teenager. So Anna decides to somehow break away and have at least one day's worth of shall we say "liberty"? She soon finds herself in the company of Mathew Goode, a British photographer. And the two go on a "mad cap" adventure. As I watched the first say hour of the film I enjoyed it. I thought it was light and breezy but after a while I just got a little tired of it. I wonder if the film could have been shorten? If it could avoid some of the cliches. Even though the movie admittedly has problems, it's still worth being seen by certain audiences. Mostly the younger teen crowd or Mandy Moore fans. It's fun to watch if you can get past its faults. Luckily I did. Bottom-line: Fun if not predictable teen comedy, but still worth while. Mandy Moore makes a nice recovery after the awful "How to Deal" and displays a large amount of star power.
Rating:
Summary: Cute Love Story
Review: Take it for what it is...a cute, fun love story. I like these kinds of movies, but if you don't...then don't watch it. Mandy Moore is a likable character as the president's daughter. All she wants is a little freedom and chance to get away from the Secret Service agents. She can't date and is a frustrated 18 year old girl. The story takes Anna on an unforgettable journey where she finds adventure, love, and heartbreak. It's a good story with a happy ending. Nothing more...nothing less.
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