I first saw Chasing Liberty back in early 2013, during a marathon viewing of Matthew Goode movies. The film, whilst a guilty pleasure, was obviously not a movie masterpiece despite the brilliance of the story. Yet onwards I strove, to find a film about first daughters worthy of IMDB's top 250 list. By chance, when I began describing the film to a friend she insisted that she had seen it to, only that this version was set at university.
What were the chances? Had I simply gone mad? Could it be that there were two almost identical films existing about the president's daughter? A quick check on Google confirmed the impossible had happened. Katie Holmes? Her best known role being Tom Cruise's wife? Needless to say, I was cautious. I waited, let the news sink in, and finally, I watched this duplicate.
What's that, you ask. Was it worth the wait? I'm not going to lie to you. First Daughter was like reliving Chasing Liberty all over again, and it was delicious. Except...something was missing. Was it Mandy Moore's great jeans (see photo above for reference)? Was it Matthew Goode? Or was it just that Katie Holmes isn't a movie star for reasons evident in First Daughter?
So what is it that separates the two films? Some of you may point to their ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, where Chasing Liberty has a rating of 19% whilst First Daughter falls behind with 8%. Some of you may also point to their IMDB ratings, with CL rated at 5.9 and FD at 4.7. The critics have clearly spoken. Arguably Chasing Liberty has the better cast. Its stars, Mandy Moore and Matthew Goode have decent films under their belts, whilst Katie Holmes and Marc Blucas are perhaps better known/more suited for TV roles.
However the films both share a common scenario; a daughter is just trying to grow up and be independent whilst her parents are holding her back. Apparently in doing so she needs to fall in love with someone she probably shouldn't and endanger he family's political position. *sigh* Growing up is so hard.
In light of these revelations, Chasing Liberty wins for me. Would I say that either of these films are flawless and are important pieces of cinematic history? No. Would I recommend to a friend? Yes. But only if that friend loves guilty pleasures and/or has low standards when it comes to films.
For further face palms about the film First Daugher, look no further than the name of Blucas' character, James Lansome. Most likely chosen because it rhymes with 'handsome'. Get it? Handsome? No? Okay never mind.
This blog post made my life, thank you.
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