Chasing Liberty

• Condition: New
• Format: DVD
• Closed-captioned; Color; DVD; Widescreen; NTSC

"Once Upon A Time there lived a lovely girl named Samantha. She had everything she could possibly wish for, and lived in a beautiful white house. The White House Katie Holmes stars as First Daughter Samantha Mackenzie _ a sheltered young woman who just wants a normal school experience, away from the influence of her parents. Only trouble is, her dad (Michael Keaton) is the President of the United States! But nothing will stop Samantha, so, under Secret Service surveillance and a nonstop media glare, she meets _ and falls hard for _ a handsome student who has a secret existence of his own."Playing the president's kin in the modern fairy tale First Daughter is the most grown-up role yet for Dawson's Creek cutie Katie Holmes. Samantha McKenzie (Holmes) has lived all her life on the edge of th! e political spotlight, but she hopes that she'll get away from it all when she leaves the White House for college. No such luck. Even though she's able to make friends with her roommate (singer Amerie) and meet a nice guy (Marc Blucas), security is tight in an election year, and the Secret Service follows her wherever she goes. First Daughter isn't particularly original (it was the working title for Mandy Moore's Chasing Liberty, which opened in theaters earlier the same year, 2004), but it's a chuckle-inducing girlie movie that's worth watching for Holmes. Also, Michael Keaton is especially likable as a president and dad. That's a big change for Holmes, who as Dawson's Creek's Joey Potter was a poster child for daughters with dysfunctional fathers. --David Horiuchi

 

Sometimes the weakness we fear most can become our greatest strength . . .

 

Jack McClure has had a troubled life.  His dyslexia alwa! ys made him feel like an outsider.  He escaped from an abusiv! e home a s a teenager and lived by his wits on the streets of Washington D.C.  It wasn’t until he realized that dyslexia gave him the ability to see the world in unique ways that he found success, using this newfound strength to become a top ATF agent.

 

When a terrible accident takes the life of his only daughter, Emma, and his marriage falls apart, Jack blames himself, numbing the pain by submerging himself in work.  Then he receives a call from his old friend Edward Carson.  Carson is just weeks from taking the reins as President of the United States when his daughter, Alli, is kidnapped.  Because Emma McClure was once Alli’s best friend, Carson turns to Jack, the one man he can trust to go to any lengths to find his daughter and bring her home safely.

 

The search for Alli leads Jack on a road toward reconciliation . . . and into the path of a dangerous and calculating man.  Someone whose actions are as cold as they are brilliant! .  Whose power and reach are seemingly infinite.

 

Faith, redemption, and political intrigue play off one another as McClure uses his unique abilities to journey into the twisted mind of a stone cold genius who is constantly one step ahead of him.  Jack will soon discover that this man has affected his life and his country in more ways than he could ever imagine.

While on a diplomatic trip to Europe with her parents, first daughter Anna (Mandy Moore) escapes the secret service and meets mysterious stranger Ben Calder, who also happens to be an undercover agent.Even when she's playing a girl with a head full of air in a plot full of holes, Mandy Moore manages to make Chasing Liberty wholesomely appealing. It's too bad that "wholesome," in this case, means frolicking around Prague, Venice, and Berlin as the U.S. President's daughter, eluding Secret Service agents, defying her second-term President father (Mark Harmon, total! ly miscast), and trusting complete strangers in a world where ! potentia l terrorism seems like nothing more than a pesky distraction. In other words, first daughter Anna Foster (Moore) is a complete idiot, oblivious to danger in a fluffy romantic fantasy that's part Roman Holiday (the good part) and part bubble-gum star vehicle. Don't blame Mandy for daring to shed her good-girl image; even her innocent skinnydipping scene was handled by a "butt double," and she's irresistible as she falls for the mutually smitten Secret Service agent (promising newcomer Matthew Goode) assigned to keep her out of harm's way. Another budding romance involving two bickering agents (Annabella Sciorra, Jeremy Piven) is perfunctory at best, but if you're looking for a picturesque, sweet-natured tour of Europe with a pair of likeable lovebirds, Chasing Liberty makes for a pleasantly brief vacation. --Jeff Shannon