Chasing Liberty (5/4/2004)

PG-13

Directed by Andy Cadiff

Starring Mandy Moore and Matthew Goode

Boy meets girl.

Boy lies to the girl, and must live the lie through most the film.

Girl falls in love with boy.

Boy falls in love with girl.

Girl discovers the lie and says, “Was everything a lie?”

Boy says, “Not the love part- I really fell in love with you.”

Girl stomps off anyway. No . . . wait, girl changes mind.

Boy and girl live happily every after.

Sound familiar. Shyeah! Like, a million times! (No really, I can name them: She’s All That, 10 Things I Hate About You, Never Been Kissed, Can’t Buy Me Love, Overboard, Kindergarten Cop . . .)

Sorry- the only real lie in this film is “Choices don’t have consequences!”

In this rendition of the same ol’ plot, Secret Service agents try to keep track of Anna, the President’s 18-year-old daughter who is trying to break free from her father’s short leash. She evades secret service, escaping on a scooter with a “hottie” Brit named Ben, who, unbeknownst to her, turns out to be yet another Secret Service agent undercover. Posing as “just some guy” that she met, Ben keeps his eye on her as she sets out for the first time to experience life and freedom while in Europe

Some might call this a cute film, but I just can’t check my brain at the door this much. The film not only lacks originality, it also falls in line with all the other tales of bratty teenagers who do incredibly stupid things, yet face no consequences. Although this brat is more representative of 2004, complete with less morals, total sexual freedom, and an eagerness to get naked. (As naked as you can get in a PG-13 film, that is.)

Let’s peek at reality for a moment. If a real teenage girl met a guy outside of a concert, asked him for a ride, got drunk, stripped right in front of him and asked him to go skinny dipping in a public place, then only a few options remain: sex, rape, getting arrested . . . need I go on? Of course nothing happens to Anna. And I’m sure teen audiences are convinced that nothing would happen to them.

And only a short while later, we learned that sex actually wasn’t too far from Anna’s agenda as she dropped her towel (again, not for us to see . . . ya gotta keep that PG-13 rating so all our 13 year olds can go see this crap) and tried to get Ben to sleep with her. After all, one day is plenty of time to fall in love. . . well, maybe not love. But it’s enough time to justify sex, right? That’s what our teenage audience is slowly learning. Oh, wait. They’ve been learning that from Hollywood for years.

But Ben won’t sleep with her (yet), so Anna starts pouting. Pouting consists of hitch-hiking, jumping in the back of a truck full of strange men, and considering an offer to roll in the hay with some random horn-dog on the prowl- to get even, of course.

Need I go on?

Is the film dirty? Not by the world’s definitions. It’s just like any “Friends” episode or MTV ad campaign:

• Sex is a recreational activity


• choices don’t have consequences


• nudity is completely acceptable and doesn’t put girls in any danger with guys


• and all parents are oppressive idiots that need to listen to their teenagers who are much better equipped to handle life

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind your average mindless escapes from reality . . . talking dogs, kung fu that defies gravity, hobbits beating ogres in fights. But don’t give me the subtle lies that teenagers don’t know better NOT to trust. Around this country, youth workers see literally hundreds of thousands of heartbroken kids who think that sex or “hooching it up” is the answer. And out of the numerous consequences they face, the worst is the overwhelming feeling of regret . . . something Hollywood left out of the script.

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
Sorry, I’m tired of the lies. Skip this film, and make sure your teenagers do too.

Side Note:
As said above, we don’t recommend your kids see this film. But on the occasion that they actually have already seen it, you may want to dialogue about the film with them. These questions below may be a help to you.

Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):

1. What are some of the messages or themes you observed in this movie?
2. How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
3. How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?