Review
CHASING LIBERTY
Starring Mandy Moore, Matthew Goode and Mark Harmon
Directed by Andy Cadiff
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It’s rare that a film is overpowered by two of its supporting cast members, but in the case of Chasing Liberty, the new vehicle for pop princess Mandy Moore, the film is so unoriginal and the performances so limited that Jeremy Piven and Anabella Sciorra do just that.
In the film, Moore plays Anna (code name Liberty, natch) the sheltered daughter of the U.S. president (Mark Harmon). Despite being 18-years-old she can’t go anywhere without a contingent of Secret Service agents following her around, intruding on her privacy and ruining her dates. On a diplomatic tour of Europe she asserts her independence by running off with Ben (Matthew Goode), the first guy she runs into, not knowing that he is just another agent on daddy’s payroll.
As the two stumble across Europe (in a lightweight send-up of Roman Holiday) they inevitably head down that rocky road towards love. More importantly, however, they’re tailed by agents Weiss (Piven) and Morales (Sciorra).
Quite honestly I couldn’t care less whether this spoiled White House brat and her Hugh Grant wannabe boyfriend fall in love, or even make it to Berlin for the film’s climax. I was much more interested in watching Piven and Sciorra make the best of a mediocre script. Both of them are great actors who deserve much more than this film, but they still manage to make every scene they’re in something special. These two characters go through more of an evolution in their 20 minutes of screen time than the rest of the characters combined. Together these two actors are funny, charming and smart – everything Chasing Liberty should be, but isn’t. |
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