I would first like to start off my review for Chasing Liberty by saying I love Mandy Moore. I know she has not done much in the light but this is her 5th movie role and I think she will soon become a great well known actress. I was impatiently awaiting Chasing Liberty to hit theaters. I had seen the trailer many times as well as several TV spots. The movie to me looked like it was going to be great but with trailers lately you never really know what to think. So on Saturday evening I went to see Chasing Liberty.
The film stars my future girlfriend (Yeah I wish), Mandy Moore as Anna, the daughter of the president of the United States who is played by Mark Harmon. All her life Anna wanted to have freedom without being constantly monitored by her father's bodyguards and secret agents. Her father makes sure she is monitored 24/7 and when she is in trouble they use the code word Liberty to alert the agents. Anna just wants to be just like the normal teenager and live life fully and have some independence. After an extremely embarrassing event at a local restaurant, Anna makes a deal with her father that when they visit Prague, she will be allowed to attend a concert with her friend Gabriel without any large group of agents following her. But once her father sees what has become of Gabriel (she has become a party girl), he decides to go back on his promise and send agents to follow Anna. This is where the film really starts to get fun and Chasing Liberty ensues
The acting in this film is very good. Mandy Moore played Anna perfectly. She nails the role on the head. Like I mentioned earlier I love Mandy Moore. She is a terrific singer and she can act. She is literally perfect in every role she has done so far. Even in her last film How do Deal which was one of my biggest disappointments of 2003. Her character Halley in that film was the only good thing about the film. The rest of How to Deal was horrible, it had a rotten script, stupid jokes and an extreme lack of character development. That's why it was nice to see Mandy Moore back in action in this good movie. As for her newcomer co-star Matthew Goode who played Ben in the film was great. I liked his whole nice guy personality. I think we will be seeing him in a few more movies down the line. The supporting cast of Mark Harmon who again played the president of the United States and Anna's father was good as the overprotected parent. Also Jeremy Piven and Annabella Sciorra who played the love struck secret agents in the film were also quite amusing and good in the film.
The film's director Andy Cadiff did a great job on this film. This was his first feature film but he has been a director of many TV shows both of past and present. Andy Cadiff really caught all the beautiful spots in Venice, Prague, Berlin and London. He also did a great job with many of the different camera angles and chasing sequences. I feel the director really caught the emotion of all the characters in the film and you really cared about the characters especially Anna and Ben.
The script as well is a pleasant. This film is a bit predictable but then again only 3 to 7 movies a year are original so you can't hate the film for that. Chasing Liberty is a romantic comedy, what do people want from it? There are only so many ideas you can use with a romantic comedy. I personally think the movie is unique in several levels though. I have never seen a romantic comedy staring the daughter of the president of the United States. That is original. I also thought there were several other scenes in the film which were unique to only this film. I also thought the dialog in the film was great and the ending was good without getting to sappy. The script overall was very good just like everything else about the film.
So in conclusion, I loved Chasing Liberty. Sure it is not one of the critically acclaimed year's best films but it's a fun and enjoyable film which I could probably watch over and over again several times. It was a pleasure to watch the film for its 2 hour running time. The film like I said above is a bit predictable but so what when you have some originality, strong performances, and a beautiful and talented leading lady like Mandy Moore it's very hard to go wrong. This movie is my second favorite Mandy Moore film; A Walk to Remember is still my favorite because I really feel for the characters and I can at times I can really relate to the film. But Chasing Liberty comes in right behind it in 2nd place. I want to rate this movie an 8/10 because it was very likeable, had good performances, and was an all in all feel good film. See it if you like romantic comedies or well made teen flicks. I know I will be seeing it again and purchasing the film on DVD when it hits the shelves.
The film stars my future girlfriend (Yeah I wish), Mandy Moore as Anna, the daughter of the president of the United States who is played by Mark Harmon. All her life Anna wanted to have freedom without being constantly monitored by her father's bodyguards and secret agents. Her father makes sure she is monitored 24/7 and when she is in trouble they use the code word Liberty to alert the agents. Anna just wants to be just like the normal teenager and live life fully and have some independence. After an extremely embarrassing event at a local restaurant, Anna makes a deal with her father that when they visit Prague, she will be allowed to attend a concert with her friend Gabriel without any large group of agents following her. But once her father sees what has become of Gabriel (she has become a party girl), he decides to go back on his promise and send agents to follow Anna. This is where the film really starts to get fun and Chasing Liberty ensues
The acting in this film is very good. Mandy Moore played Anna perfectly. She nails the role on the head. Like I mentioned earlier I love Mandy Moore. She is a terrific singer and she can act. She is literally perfect in every role she has done so far. Even in her last film How do Deal which was one of my biggest disappointments of 2003. Her character Halley in that film was the only good thing about the film. The rest of How to Deal was horrible, it had a rotten script, stupid jokes and an extreme lack of character development. That's why it was nice to see Mandy Moore back in action in this good movie. As for her newcomer co-star Matthew Goode who played Ben in the film was great. I liked his whole nice guy personality. I think we will be seeing him in a few more movies down the line. The supporting cast of Mark Harmon who again played the president of the United States and Anna's father was good as the overprotected parent. Also Jeremy Piven and Annabella Sciorra who played the love struck secret agents in the film were also quite amusing and good in the film.
The film's director Andy Cadiff did a great job on this film. This was his first feature film but he has been a director of many TV shows both of past and present. Andy Cadiff really caught all the beautiful spots in Venice, Prague, Berlin and London. He also did a great job with many of the different camera angles and chasing sequences. I feel the director really caught the emotion of all the characters in the film and you really cared about the characters especially Anna and Ben.
The script as well is a pleasant. This film is a bit predictable but then again only 3 to 7 movies a year are original so you can't hate the film for that. Chasing Liberty is a romantic comedy, what do people want from it? There are only so many ideas you can use with a romantic comedy. I personally think the movie is unique in several levels though. I have never seen a romantic comedy staring the daughter of the president of the United States. That is original. I also thought there were several other scenes in the film which were unique to only this film. I also thought the dialog in the film was great and the ending was good without getting to sappy. The script overall was very good just like everything else about the film.
So in conclusion, I loved Chasing Liberty. Sure it is not one of the critically acclaimed year's best films but it's a fun and enjoyable film which I could probably watch over and over again several times. It was a pleasure to watch the film for its 2 hour running time. The film like I said above is a bit predictable but so what when you have some originality, strong performances, and a beautiful and talented leading lady like Mandy Moore it's very hard to go wrong. This movie is my second favorite Mandy Moore film; A Walk to Remember is still my favorite because I really feel for the characters and I can at times I can really relate to the film. But Chasing Liberty comes in right behind it in 2nd place. I want to rate this movie an 8/10 because it was very likeable, had good performances, and was an all in all feel good film. See it if you like romantic comedies or well made teen flicks. I know I will be seeing it again and purchasing the film on DVD when it hits the shelves.