Chasing Liberty

Directed by Andy Cadiff, Chasing Liberty follows the First Daughter (Mandy Moore’s Anna Foster) as she embarks on a European escapade alongside a charming young man (Matthew Goode’s Ben Calder) who just happens to be a covert Secret Service Agent. It’s an agreeably lighthearted premise that’s employed to watchable (yet admittedly forgettable) effect by Cadiff, as the filmmaker, armed with a script by Derek Guiley and David Schneiderman, delivers a briskly-paced romcom that benefits from the affable efforts of its two central players – with Moore and Goode’s charming work here, coupled with their obvious chemistry together, going a long way towards cultivating (and sustaining) a mostly compelling atmosphere. (It doesn’t hurt, either, that Cadiff offers up travelogue-friendly visuals that are, from time to time, more stylish than one might’ve anticipated, with this particularly true of a one-take tracking shot within a train station.) And while the needlessly padded-out 111 minute time results in several palpable lulls, including (and especially) a fake break-up stretch that feels a little endless, Chasing Liberty predominantly does come off as a decent-enough romantic comedy that’s often more entertaining than it has any right to be. (And this is to say nothing of the top-notch supporting cast, which boasts Jeremy Piven, Annabella Sciorra, and Mark Harmon.)

**1/2 out of ****