Chasing Liberty

Chasing Liberty
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Andy Cadiff
Produced by	Broderick Johnson Andrew Kosove David Parfitt
Written by	Derek Guiley David Schneiderman
Starring	Mandy Moore Matthew Goode
Music by	Christian Henson
Cinematography	Ashley Rowe
Editing by	Jon Gregory
Studio	Alcon Entertainment
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	January 9, 2004 (2004-01-09)
Running time	111 minutes
Language	English
Budget	$23,000,000 (est.)
Box office	$12,313,323

Chasing Liberty is a 2004 American romantic comedy film directed by Andy Cadiff and starring Mandy Moore and Matthew Goode.

Plot

Anna Foster (Mandy Moore) is the daughter of President James Foster (Mark Harmon) and First Lady Michelle Foster (Caroline Goodall). After Secret Service agents ruin a first date, Anna demands some freedom. For their upcoming trip to Prague, the president agrees to assign only two agents to watch over Anna, whose Secret Service codename is Liberty. In Prague, Anna and her friend Gabrielle La Clare (Beatrice Rosen) attend a concert, where Anna discovers numerous agents in the crowd. Believing her father has broken his promise, Anna eludes her protectors with Gabrielle's help.

Outside the theater, Anna meets Ben Calder (Matthew Goode), and asks for a ride on his motorbike. They go to a bar, where Anna proceeds to get drunk. Unknown to Anna, Ben is a Secret Service agent, and he informs agents Alan Weiss (Jeremy Piven) and Cynthia Morales (Annabella Sciorra) where Anna can be found. When the president learns of her behavior, he instructs Ben to guard Anna without revealing his true identity—giving her the illusion of freedom with a guarantee of safety.

Believing she is finally free, Anna jumps into the Vltava River naked, mistaking it for the Danube. As Ben rushes in to retrieve her, Weiss and Morales "buy" a tourist's camera containing pictures of the skinny-dipping Anna. Later, Anna and Ben climb a rooftop to watch an Offenbach opera being shown in a plaza. Weiss and Morales observe from a nearby rooftop. Anna falls asleep with Ben watching over her.

The next morning, Anna calls her parents. Initially relieved that his daughter is safe, the President's tone changes when he is shown photos of her skinny-dipping. Outraged at her father's tone and learning that he traced her call, Anna decides she will go to the Love Parade in Berlin. She and Ben board a train, where they meet Scotty McGruff (Martin Hancock), a flighty romantic who gives them a stack of Six Million Dollar Man stickers, instructing them to post them in random places, and one day when they are unhappy, they may come across one and it will make them smile. Ben discovers that they have boarded a Venice-bound train going in the opposite direction from Berlin.

In Venice, after checking in with agents Weiss and Morales—who are now growing closer romantically—Ben joins Anna and McGruff and together they explore the city. Later, after McGruff leaves, Anna realizes he has stolen her wallet. When Anna is recognized by tourists, she and Ben run off. With no money, they tell a kind-hearted gondolier, Eugenio (Joseph Long), that they recently married against her parents' wishes. During the free gondola ride, Ben kisses Anna to hide her from their pursuers. When he learns the "newlyweds" have no place to stay, Eugenio invites them to his house, where they are welcomed by his mother, Maria (Miriam Margolyes). That night, thinking their kiss was heartfelt, Anna offers herself to Ben, but he rejects her advances.

The next day, Eugenio drives them to the Austrian border, as Weiss and Morales show up at Maria's house and learn from Maria that Anna and Ben are married, which is then reported to Anna's parents. Upset at Ben's rejection, Anna hitchhikes a ride in a truck, leaving Ben to chase her through the Austrian countryside. Anna comes to a bridge, where she meets the Jumping Germans, a bungee jumping group. Ben arrives just as Anna is being strapped into the harness, and he insists on jumping with her. They jump from the bridge, harnessed together in a tight embrace.

Later that evening at the Jumping Germans' camp, Anna and Ben sit by a fire and eat s'mores. After one of the Germans, Gus Gus (Adrian Bouchet), asks Anna to share his tent for the night and she refuses, she flirts with Ben, who rejects her advances again. Upset by his rebuff, she declares that she will share Gus Gus's tent after all. In a jealous panic, Ben finally admits his feelings for Anna. As Ben's phone rings, he tosses it aside, and they have sex spending the night together.

The next day, Anna and Ben make it to the Love Parade in Berlin. Anna meets up with Gabrielle while Ben goes off in search of a phone booth. As Ben tries to explain his actions on the phone to his fellow agents, Anna comes up behind him and discovers he is a Secret Service agent. Enraged at the apparent betrayal, Anna runs off, only to be harassed by a group of men who recognize her. Ben comes to her rescue and carries her to a waiting helicopter, which takes off and leaves Ben on the ground alone.

Back at the White House, while preparing for college, Anna reveals to her mother that her heart is "a little bit broken." At college, with Weiss and Morales still protecting her, Anna sees a Six Million Dollar Man sticker and smiles in spite of herself, reminded of her European adventure. By now, Weiss and Morales have fallen in love and plan to marry. They acknowledge he will need to find another partner.

On her Christmas break, Anna visits her father who tells her that Ben resigned from the Secret Service and is now working as a photographer in London. Anna travels to London on an exchange program to Oxford University and visits Ben at an opera, where they kiss and reconcile, with Agent Weiss and his new partner looking on. Anna and Ben leave the theater and escape on his motorbike.

Cast

• Mandy Moore as Anna Foster
• Matthew Goode as Special Agent Ben Calder
• Stark Sands as Grant Hillman
• Jeremy Piven as Special Agent Alan Weiss
• Annabella Sciorra as Special Agent Cynthia Morales
• Mark Harmon as President James Foster
• Caroline Goodall as First Lady Michelle Foster
• Tony Jayawardena as White House Guard
• Sam Ellis as Phil
• Terence Maynard as Harper
• Lewis Hancock as Press Secretary
• Garrick Hagon as Secretary of State
• Zac Benoir as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Jan Goodman as National Security Advisor
• Robert Ashe as Chief of Staff
• Beatrice Rosen as Gabrielle
• Martin Hancock as McGruff
• Joseph Long as Eugenio
• Miriam Margolyes as Maria
• Adrian Bouchet as Gus Gus
• The Roots as Themselves

Production

Story

The storyline was directly inspired by Chelsea Clinton, who was photographed trying to blend in with other students at a Stanford basketball game.

The problem that Anna Foster faces in the film—overprotective Secret Service agents who behave like unwanted chaperones when protecting the children of United States Government officials—had previously provided story material for other motion pictures such as the comedy First Family, which starred Bob Newhart as the President of the United States.

Filming locations

The exterior scenes of the White House were in fact filmed at Hylands House in Chelmsford, Essex, England, because of its resemblance to the White House. Blueprints of the White House were also used to create a digital replica, which helped make the exterior scenes look authentic. These blueprints caused the director some trouble when traveling to Washington, D.C., as his suitcase also contained source material about the Oval Office, among other things.

• Washington, DC, United States
• Prague, Czech Republic
• Venice, Italy
• Berlin, Germany
• London, England
• Hylands House, Chelmsford, Essex, England
• Barrandov Studios, Prague, Czech Republic
• Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England

Soundtrack

The music soundtrack was nominated for the World Soundtrack Award in 2004.

• "American Girl" (Tom Petty) performed by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
• "Life Will Go On" (Chris Isaak) performed by Chris Isaak
• "If I'm Not in Love" (Dawn Thomas) performed by Faith Hill
• "Stop the Rock" (Hoxley, Gray, Noko) performed by Apollo 440
• "Vivi Davvero" (Giorgia) performed by Giorgia
• "Stay Away" (Robert Schwartzman) performed by Rooney
• "Melody" (Joe DuBass Henson, Darren Rose, Wasi) performed by 7th Sun
• "The Seed" (Tariq Trotter, Cody ChesnuTT) performed by The Roots
• "Deja Vu" (Frantisek Cerny) performed by Frantisek Cerny, Milan Cimfe and Pavel Karlik
• "If You Won't" (Jesse Harris) performed by Jesse Harris
• "Who Needs Shelter" (Jason Mraz, Eric Schermerhorn, Chris Keup) performed by Jason Mraz
• "Get Busy" (Sean Paul, S. Marsden) performed by Sean Paul
• "You're Free" (John Ciafone, Lem Springsteen, Ultra Naté, Paul Masterson) performed by Yomanda
• "Satisfaction" (A Benassi) performed by Benny Benassi presents The Biz
• "Wide Open Space" (Paul Draper) performed by Mansun
• "Nessun Dorma" (Giacomo Puccini) performed by Amici forever
• "To Be With You" (Caroline Lost, Christian Henson) performed by Caroline Lost

Reception

Critical response

The film received a lukewarm response from critics, but won three Teen Choice Awards. Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post wrote, "Chasing Liberty will probably win over as many fuddy-duddy fathers as fillies with its mixture of sweetness tempered with genial cynicism."

Roger Ebert found the film "surprisingly good in areas where it doesn't need to be good at all, and pretty awful in areas where it has to succeed." Ebert did appreciate Moore's performance, writing, "Moore is just plain likeable, a slurpee blended from scoops of Mary Tyler Moore, Sally Field and Doris Day."

In his Reel Views review, James Berardinelli called Chasing Liberty "a fairly standard-issue teen romantic comedy."

In his review in the San Francisco Chronicle, Mick LaSalle wrote, "Chasing Liberty is a kind of remake of It Happened One Night (1934), updated and retooled for a young audience that won't recognize the connection." LaSalle applauds the film's ability to evoke a young girl's experience of being on her own for the first time, writing, "Anna and Ben romp through Prague and, later, Venice, having adventures and misadventures and meeting various colorful characters, and it's all quite engaging. We understand what this freedom means to Anna, partly thanks to Moore's expressive intelligence, but also through director Andy Cadiff's technique. We see a rock concert, a late-night outdoor screening of an operatic film and the splendors of historic cities through the eyes of a young girl experiencing them for the first time."

A similar movie released later that same year, First Daughter, was an equally large commercial loss. An early working title for Chasing Liberty had been Untitled First Daughter Project.

Awards

• 2004 Teen Choice Award Nomination for Choice Breakout Movie Star – Male (Matthew Goode)
• 2004 Teen Choice Award Nomination for Choice Movie – Date Movie
• 2004 Teen Choice Award Nomination for Choice Movie Actress – Drama/Action Adventure (Mandy Moore)
• 2004 Teen Choice Award Nomination for Choice Movie Liar (Matthew Goode)
• 2004 World Soundtrack Award Nomination for Discovery of the Year (Christian Henson)

External links

• Official Site
• Chasing Liberty at the Internet Movie Database