Chasing Liberty

100 Movies in 100 Days
Movie 32 Day 32
Chasing Liberty

Sometimes you need a little blast from the past. I was feeling a little nostalgic and in need of some 2004 influence. I was looking on Hulu and realized I have never watched the movie Chasing Liberty. The movie stars Mandy Moore, Matthew Goode and Mark Harmon. I thought this movie looks kind of cute, it's from 2004! It seemed like a good day to take a peek and see what Chasing Liberty had to offer. I was pleasantly surprised to find that chasing Liberty is so nostalgic of my senior year in high school. I remember wearing the bell-bottoms, having the short dark choppy hair, short crop tops and all the glitter and bling that went along with the year 2004. Chasing Liberty was a fun little experimentation.

Chasing Liberty is the story of Mandy Moore playing Anna, she is the first daughter to the president of the United States. Jokingly the president is played by Mark Harmon and he does a beautiful job of playing the stern, yet funny president. Anna decides she wants to have a weekend to herself, away from the Secret Service and her parents prying eyes. She sneaks away from the Secret Service in Prague and meets Ben, who she thinks is just a friend. Ben actually ends up being a Secret Service agent who is supposed to be guarding the first daughter without her knowledge. That charming man is of course played by the beautiful Matthew Goode.

What makes Chasing Liberty so gosh darn charming? Honestly it's all about young, naive love. It reminded me of my first crush and how your whole world revolved around being young. The adult in me watches the film and is yelling at the characters. You don't know them? Be safe, where is your passport...ect ect ect. Chasing Liberty reminds viewers of wanting to backpack through Europe during those college years. This movie will definitely make you want to travel to Venice, Prague, Austria and all over Europe. I think that was my favorite part about the entire movie, watching Mandy Moore and Matthew Goode run along the streets of Venice.  It was a fun rom-com with a lot of jumps and bumps along the way.

Was this a good movie? It wasn't a bad movie, it definitely wasn't the best rom-com I've ever seen but it was charming. Matthew Goode stands out for his brilliant performance, he makes Ben seem kind instead of a lying creep. One odd thing I did notice was during some points of the movie it feels like a made-for-tv movie. There are large breaks in between scenes where the screen just goes to black. The break between scenes felt like a dramatic, hold for commercial moment. It was very distracting and didn't help the pacing of the film at all.

Again the real highlight of the movie is the locations. It really reminds its viewer to travel and exploring new cultures. That being said it also reminds you of the dangers of travel and remind you that you have to watch out. It was still a fun little hour and a half's adventure. If you have a spare moment, check it out but again it's not on my must-see list but it was still fun to watch