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: 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: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Good chemistry between the stars but a weak script and end
Review: I know there was a movie made about the mad cap adventures of the President's son, namely the 1996 film "First Kid," but for the most part Hollywood prefers stories in which the president has a daughter, whether you are talking comedies (1998's "My Date with the President's Daughter") or dramas (this year's "Spartan"). Of course the current president has twin daughters and the previous president had a daughter as an only child, so it is not like the idea is unrealistic. But given that the president is flying from one daughter's college graduation to that of the other this week while the nation has military forces in several Middle Eastern countries, when "The West Wing" begins the season with one of the president's daughters kidnapped by Middle Eastern terrorists it makes me extremely nervous because surely there are real people out there in the real world thinking along similar lines. Never before in the history of the Republic has being the daughter of the President of the United States been as dangerous as it is right now. If Anna Foster (Mandy Moore), the first daughter in the romantic comedy "Chasing Liberty" 2004 lived in the real world she would have a decidedly different view of her life. But for her the worst thing in the world is trying to have a "normal" date while still in high school. That is pretty hard when the Secret Service lets her date drive through the White House gate but then trashes the flowers he brought looking for who knows what nefarious devices or biological entities. Anna, whose code name is "Liberty" for ironic reasons that matter to the film but would never occur to the Secret Service, is not happy with her father (Mark Harmon), so she tries to wrangle a deal. When the family goes to Prague for an economic summit she will get to hang out with Gabrielle (Beatrice Rosen), the daughter of the French ambassador and do normal teenage things with only two Secret Service agents, Weiss (Jeremy Piven) and Morales (Annabella Sciorra). Despite the warnings of her mother (Caroline Goodall) never to make a deal with a politician, Anna believes her father will honor the deal, so when she discovers that she is having a good time once again surrounded by agents, she bolts from the place and hops on the back of the motorcycle with the good looking guy. His name is Ben Calder (Matthew Goode), and he is only too happy to scurry Anna away from her watchers. This is not only because she is a good-looking young woman with a nice smile, but also because he is also a Secret Servent agent (in other words, we are doing a version of "It Happened One Night"). It seems the President was thinking ahead for such circumstances and orders Calder to let Anna engage in her youthful acts of rebellion without ever telling her the truth. The rest of "Chasing Liberty" should be clear to you at this point. Even the bickering between agents Weiss and Morales is rather predictable in how it will play out as well. However this film has a couple of things going in its favor. First, there are the European locations. Anna and Ben travel from Prague to Berlin, via Venice no less, so if young women watching the film never want to be the daughter of the President a trip to Europe will surely be high on their list. Second, Moore and Calder have good chemistry going for them. She can go skinny-dipping in the Danube and still be a sweet girl while he actually seems smart enough to take care of them while they are running around central Europe. Along the way they meet the sort of interesting people you expect to find on the continent. There is a hippie type named McGruff (Martin Hancock) who has a rather neat idea for spreading happiness around the world and a gondolier wannabe (Joseph Long) who gets to help out our young couple. Of course with many of these adventures you keep waiting for the Secret Service side of Ben to come through and stop Anna from doing some of the things she does, but where would be the fun in that? Moore is enticing enough to keep rooting for her throughout the film and forgive many of the film's problems, but then we get to the finish. A good finish can forgive a great many cinematic sins. The past couple of months I have been comparing the endings of a lot of films to that of "Uptown Girls," by no means a classic film, but with an effective conclusion that brought together a whole bunch of plot elements. "Chasing Liberty" sets up the opportunity for some sort of grand romantic gesture at the end, but aside from an interesting duet version of the operatic aria "Nessun Dorma" there is nothing special here and there should have been. Moore, who is going to be acting long after most of the rest of the current crop of young singers turned actresses are on the "Whatever happened to?" list, carries most of this film by herself, with Goode helping when the story allows, but in the end the script should have helped her bring this film home.
Rating:
Summary: Great, Super Fun Flick
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: So much better than I expected
Review: This movie was so much better than I expected it to be! I loved Mandy Moore in A Walk to Remember and enjoyed How To Deal, so I thought I'd give this movie a chance. If you overlook the slightly farfetched plot, you find a really honest performance by Moore. Really, a beautiful and light-hearted romantic comedy that had me laughing out loud.
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