Mandy Moore Effect: Movies

Tagline: Every family has a rebel. Even the First Family.

Official Description from Amazon: The President's daughter (Moore), unable to experience life like a normal 18 year-old, escapes from her entourage of Secret Service agents while traveling in Europe. She falls in love with a handsome British stranger (Goode), who also happens to be working undercover for her father (Harmon). A modern-day homage to ROMAN HOLIDAY.

Mandy Moore's Role: The next stop in the Mandy Moore saga brings us to the White House, where she plays the President's daughter, Anna Foster. Though the story is fairly predictable, the presence of Mandy Moore and her co-star Matthew Goode manages to keep you attached to the movie. Their relationship is a bit strange and is oozing with thematic optimism of romantic relationships. That discounts the overall plot of their relationship being based on theory, which ultimately proves to be the big theme of the movie. Although, their situation is a bit far-fetched, the dramatic irony (think English class) employed by the movie helplessly reels you in. The movie even generates a few unexpected laughs (and I'm not talking about the major inconsistencies in the storyline).

Anna Foster can't escape the burdens of being the President's daughter. Anna is fine with her diplomatic duties as First Daughter. She even excels at it. However, what she didn't call for was the mass security implemented by her protective father making it impossible to live life like a normal teenager. Peers (mainly guys) shy away from the extra attention as evidenced by the movie's opening act. Finally fed up with the security, Anna confronts her father, who promises to give her one night "alone" on their upcoming diplomatic trip to Europe, totally free from his grip. However, still not totally committed to his promise, he assigns Agent Ben Calder (Matthew Goode) to keep tabs on his daughter.

Unbeknownst to all of this, Anna attempts to escape from Secret Service agents while in Prague and runs into British photographer, Ben Calder. After escaping from her father, Anna and Ben trek through Europe after repeated attempts to escape her father, but in the process the two fall in love. Left in the dark about Ben's true identity, Anna is crushed when she finally learns the truth, shattering her image of the man who protected her throughout their European escapade.

Mandy Moore is the catalyst that drives this movie. Without her, the movie would have fallen over itself numerous times with it's flawed storyline. Moore's charm creates sympathy for her character Anna, who is extremely trusting of every individual she meets. Mandy Moore is simply irresistible in this one. Despite knowing the direction of the plot and how it all unfolds, she inexplicably manages to grab you however you decided to watch the movie. Mandy Moore's acting was again fantastic and she essentially saved the movie from falling into the wastebasket of Hollywood duds. It's just another notch to add to the ever-expanding force known as.... the Mandy Moore effect.

Movie Notes

Mandy Moore's blond hair in the beginning of the movie was not her real hair. She was wearing a wig.

The skinny-dipping scene in the so-called "Danube" was handled by a body double.

Mandy's second implied nudity scene was actually her. She explains more in the commentary found in Chasing Liberty's DVD.