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Mandy Moore, star of A Walk to Remember, plays Anna, the President's daughter, in the new film Chasing Liberty. Director Andy Cadiff's film just might be the first big screen endeavor to make heroes out of the Bush twins.

Well, okay, Anna's not supposed to be one of the Bush girls. But there are certain … uh … behavioral similarities. Anna is tired of the high-security confinements of her daily life as the "First Daughter." So she heads off on a vacation, determined to enjoy all of the things that have been off-limits to her.

Here's the bad news: The film paints Anna's rebellious streak—her drinking, her hasty sex, and her evasions of responsibility—as acceptable and even admirable.

This is not winning the film any fans amongst religious press film critics.

"Does it seem archaic to suggest that a couple shouldn't sleep together after knowing one another for a whole two days?" asks Phil Boatwright (Movie Reporter). "Putting biblical teaching aside for a moment, doesn't that seem like a dangerous message for a pretty, famous ingénue to be sending out to her Tween fans? On the surface, Chasing Liberty seems to be another fluffy, teen romance, but there are some messages contained that parents should [heed.]"

Eddie Turner (Movieguide) says, "[Anna's] trip is motivated by rebelliousness and a desire to experience carnal pleasures that she would never be allowed while living under parental scrutiny. By the end, every character behaves in morally reprehensible ways, always choosing the most comfortable, self-serving option."

"[It's] as derivative and formulaic as they come," says Michael Elliott (Movie Parables). "The settings (Prague, Venice, and Berlin) are attractive, as is Ms. Moore, but there just isn't much else going on behind the pretty facade. Liberty is … a completely average piece of fluff with more sexual content than the parents of Mandy Moore fans would like to see."

David DiCerto (Catholic News Service) says, "If the filmmaker's intent is to argue for parents trusting their children, he presents a rather self-incriminating case. Anna proves that she is anything but responsible. Underneath its fresh-scrubbed facade, the film seems more concerned with the pursuit of happiness than life or liberty. And the 'happiness' sought is not what St. Thomas Aquinas would call the 'summa bonum' (the final good) but a cheap hedonism."

Bob Waliszewski (Plugged In) says, "In Liberty, the icing on life's cake can only be found inside a liquor bottle, in a river while naked, and in the act of losing one's virginity. In A Walk to Remember, Mandy Moore's character takes the high road. This time around … Moore's character takes the low road—and in typical Hollywood style, there's no cost involved. I must admit I was hoping for better things from Miss Moore."

Annabelle Robertson (Crosswalk) spends a good deal of her "review" speculating about Mandy Moore: "Is she, or isn't she a Christian? Certainly, her skinny-dipping, premarital sex, lies and the abundant sexuality in the film will leave many wondering about this popular star's alleged faith."

The problem with this approach is that the critic is confusing the character and the actress. It is not Mandy Moore having premarital sex in the film. It is, rather, that Moore has consented to play a character that does these things. There are many actors in Hollywood who have chosen to play immoral characters, and they have done so for differing reasons, some admirable and some questionable. However, to encourage readers and moviegoers to guess at the fate of an actor's immortal soul simply by judging the characters she plays … this is a presumptuous and dangerous path to tread. It approaches the land of "Christian gossip." Mandy Moore's salvation is God's business.

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January (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48