Sometimes the serious contemplation of contemporary
cinema leads one down the dark and winding path of depression and despair. The
release of Chasing Liberty, a movie
apparently intended as a vehicle for the alleged pop singer Mandy Moore,
prompts a measure of that contemplation and certainly a good deal more than a
modicum of melancholy. The motion picture engages, if in the most trivial
terms, a situation roughly parallel to current history and therefore familiar
to most members of its audience. However, its not quite relevant, not quite
novel material proves once again the paradoxical truth that nothing is more out
of date than something so recent as yesterday’s newspaper.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย If
popular culture, and especially in the form of so universal an art as the
cinema, should naturally express, at least indirectly, some of the important
concerns, issues, and events of its time, then, to borrow a notion from a film
critic of the ancient period of the middle of the 20th century, no films should
really be irrelevant. In their apparent desire to express some currently trendy
notions and circumstances, however, the makers of Chasing Liberty succeed in producing an embarrassingly awkward and
laboriously unfunny comedy purportedly based on some real and recognizable
people and circumstances.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Inspired,
the filmmakers confess, by the example of Chelsea Clinton, the movie deals with
a common family dilemma, with the cute difference — our old friend high
concept again — that the family in question consists of the president of the
United States, his wife, and their 18-year-old daughter. The daughter, Anna
Foster (Mandy Moore), accompanies her father (Mark Harmon), and mother
(Caroline Goodall) on an official trip to Europe. There, chafing under the
smothering restrictions of the intrusive Secret Service, she eludes her
protective agents and takes off on her own. She meets a pleasant young
Englishman (Matthew Goode) who helps her escape, then accompanies her on her
flight through Europe.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย That
trip through several European countries provides the only visual entertainment
in the film, which for much of its length constitutes a lavish travelogue. In
addition to its scenes in Prague, the movie takes its protagonist to Venice,
Austria, and Berlin, the real object of her quest. Eager to experience the life
of a normal young woman, to enjoy the same pleasures as her peers, Moore’s
character wants to participate in the Berlin Love Parade, a sort of Woodstock
in motion that draws thousands of hedonists from all over the world.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย As it
turns out, the handsome and helpful young Brit who aides Moore’s escape is also
a Secret Service agent, who keeps in touch for the whole trip with another pair
of agents who pursue the couple on their journey. Although the young woman
discovers what she regards as a betrayal and suffers some natural
disillusionment, we all know that things will work out entirely well for her
and the Englishman. Just to keep the cuteness at a fever pitch, moreover, the
agents he communicates with, played by Jeremy Piven and Annabella Sciorra, also
fall in love along the way, providing some mildly comic moments and perhaps
enough screen time to flesh out this insubstantial work.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Aside
from the general inanity of the whole picture, the essence of the work consists
of its central paradox that, though based on recognizable people and situations
and filmed in some equally recognizable locations, Chasing Liberty creates about as much sense of real life as some
ancient and moronic television situation comedy. The dialogue and behavior of
its central character reveals almost no connection to life as we know it. This
18-year-old young woman, a legal adult, overplays her innocence, acting and
speaking as if she were some silly preadolescent who’s never heard anything of
the contemporary world.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Entirely
ignoring the evidence of reality, the filmmakers create a sort of Disney
version of an American teenager, cute, naive, uninformed, all in an age of
sexual awareness, contraceptive pills, designer drugs, subversive music, edgy
youth-oriented TV shows, and the countless dangers that trouble so many parents
in a decadent culture. Where have these guys been?
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Although
the several European locations look quite pretty in their different ways, and
the overhead shots of the Berlin Love Parade capture a sense of the size and
frenzy of the annual event, nothing else recommends this innocuous but dreary
work. The blandness of the actors, the sheer idiocy of the plot, the vacuity of
its emotional moments, the stupidity of its conception, the cheap falsehood of
its subjects combine to underline the fact that the film really should never
have been made. Despite its vague origin in real people and events, Chasing Liberty indeed achieves
something surprisingly rare and special as an utterly meaningless, forgettable,
and thoroughly irrelevant motion picture.
Chasing Liberty, starring Mandy Moore, Matthew Goode, Jeremy Piven, Annabella Sciorra,
Caroline Goodall, Mark Harmon, Beatrice Rosen, Martin Hancock, Adrian Bouchet;
written by Derek Guiley and David Schneiderman; directed by Andy Cadiff.
Cinemark Tinseltown; Hoyts Greece Ridge; Loews Webster; Regal Culver Ridge;
Regal Eastview; Regal Henrietta.
You can hear George and his movie reviews on WXXI-FM
91.5 Fridays at 7:20 a.m., rerun on Saturdays at 8:50 a.m.
This article appears in Jan 14-20, 2004.
