First Daughter (2004) Movie Review, Trailer and Poster

USA 2004
Director: Forest Whitaker
Cast: Katie Holmes, Michael Keaton, Amerie, Marc Blucas, Lela Rochon
Rating: PG
Release Date: September 24th 2004
Running Time: 1 hour 46 minutes

The Movie Review

The year 2004 is they year of the president's daughter craze. After Chasing Liberty in January, in the span of only eight months, now we heave First Daughter on hand. Mandy Moore of Liberty versus Katie Holmes of First Daughter, which one is better? Mandy Moore sets off as a singer while Katie Holmes as an actress from the famous TV series Dawson Creek, so theoretically Katie should be the one who performs better. Ironically it's Mandy Moore who wins the competition. Although just to inform you, both movies are loosely inspired by the classic movie The Roman Holiday starring Audrey Hepburn.


FIRST DAUGHTER
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Samantha Mackenzie (Katie Holmes) the daughter of the United States President (Michael Keaton) is yearning for an autonomy life and not some kind of bacteria living under the microscope. When she finally gets to go to college, she figures out that it will be her chance to experience the real life first hand complete with a eccentric room-mate Mia Thompson (Amerie, an R&B singer's). Samantha's new life is even more perfect when she meets a guy in a classroom named James (Marc Blucas). What Samantha doesn't know (but we as the audience might have already expected), James is also one of the secret service agents assigned to protect Samantha.

First Daughter suffers from disadvantage that its concept is not a novelty anymore, at least not in the recent years, since everyone still have fresh memory of what Chasing Liberty like, so one might not curious anymore. But First Daughter also has the benefits from the genre fan base who's hoping that it would be a much better film than Chasing Liberty. I am disappointed to say, that First Daughter doesn't live up to the expectation.

As I've written before about Chasing Liberty, "try imagining seeing Chasing Liberty without the European background", well on some level it applies to First Daughter. In sense that, How can you contend four beautiful and exquisite European countries with a college building. Furthermore the lead actress Katie Holmes doesn't seem to have given maximum acting performance, plus there is no chemistry between Holmes and Blucas, well yes that's also the case in Chasing Liberty, but at least Mandy Moore is a more likable character.

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