What's a girl gotta do to get out from under the oppressive thumb of overprotective parents? Well, if you're the teenage daughter of the President of the United States, you travel to a foreign country, ditch the Secret Service agents assigned to protect you, and run off on a road trip across Europe with the first good looking stranger you meet. That's the premise behind Chasing Liberty, the latest Mandy Moore rom-com, and a lightweight, utterly predictable film that takes an agonizingly long time to reach its inevitable ending.

       Amounting to little more than a travelogue interspersed with uninteresting and clichéd dialogue, Chasing Liberty follows the standard 'boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl again' formula with slight variation, so much so that you can see the next plot twist coming from miles away.

       Moore's work is ok here. There's a consistency to her work that has carried from film to film, a certain confidence and poise in front of the camera that belies the fact that, by Hollywood standards, she's a novice. And, I suppose that's the problem – Moore's Anna Foster is also How To Deal's Halley or A Walk To Remember's Jamie. Moore has not yet stretched herself and broken free of basically playing herself onscreen. That her skills have improved is evident, but it's about time for Moore to free herself from the constraints of the teen rom-com genre and show us what she is really made of.

       Matthew Goode, on the other hand, is a revelation. Goode makes his screen debut memorable with a relaxed, easy demeanor to go along with his Teen People looks. His Ben is bemused and exasperated, the perfect foil for Anna's self-centered selfishness.

       Jeremy Piven and Annabella Sciorra are the Secret Service agents desperately trying to stay on Anna's trail. Initially at odds with one another, a romance begins to develop that ultimately becomes much more engaging than the love story we're supposed to be following.

       Chasing Liberty is a visually beautiful with Prague, Vienna, and Berlin as backdrops. As it jumps from one location to the other, I was reminded of the television reality show Amazing Race – except, in this case, nobody is in a real hurry to get anywhere.

       Chasing Liberty is now available on DVD in 2.35:1 widescreen anamorphic and 5.1 Dolby Digital. DVD extras include a few deleted scenes, a featurette offering European travel tips, optional commentary, and a gag reel that is nothing more than Jeremy Piven ad-libbing a variety of lines.

There are worse ways to spend an evening other than watching a liberated Mandy Moore flounce around Europe, however you just may find yourself hitting the ‘stop' button on the remote to free yourself from the inane script and tedious pacing.