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By
DEBORAH NICOL
In the fine tradition of the
Bush twins, "Chasing Liberty" follows the reckless
rebelliousness of a President's budding daughter.
If Jenna and Barbara ever led such a lovely jaunt,
they would probably never make their usual
headline quota.
Hollywood's good girl Mandy Moore finds herself in
the role of Presidential-offspring good girl Anna
(codename Liberty, get it?). Feeling cloistered by
the constant swarm of Secret Service, 18-year-old
Anna feels it is time to take flight during a
diplomatic visit to Prague, and attempts to find
her way to Berlin's Love Parade festival. Helping
her to escape the men in dark sunglasses is
smoldering but sour Ben, unbeknownst to her also
one of the hive. Initially meeting in the bar
Marquis de Sade, perhaps Anna was pondering Sade's
letter from prison stating, "Either kill me or
take me as I am, because I'll be damned if I ever
change." Ah, such is the transition from girlhood
to womanhood.
Played with bitter intensity by Matthew Goode, Ben
is a scandalous 23, making their barely legal
affair all that more exciting. Perhaps the age
difference is necessary to match her dizzying IQ
and molded maturity, but it is a little
disheartening to think that the man trained to
take a bullet for her will more likely take
something else. It is difficult to determine where
protection trades places with affection, but in a
tale where a girl learns to hit all the bases on
her first date, the scale is sliding. Moore's
portrayal of the young rebel is very wizened and
congenial—even a nude scene feels more Martha
Stewart than "Girls Gone Wild."
As constant as a DUI in the Bush family is the
humor of Jeremy Piven, as a lovesick puppy for
fellow agent played by Annabella Scioria. Their
roles are minimal, which is a shame considering
his comedic possibilities. In fact, the entire gag
real of the DVD consists of Piven's improvs. Also
included is a commentary track by the two leads, a
featurette that seems made by the tour board of
Europe, an un-cut Roots song performance,
additional scenes, and a trailer. |
