Synopsis

Samantha MacKenzie, the daughter of the U.S. president, leaves the White House to attend college in California. Hoping to experience an ordinary student life, she struggles with constant Secret Service protection and public scrutiny. Her growing romance with James, a fellow student who helps her escape the pressures of her position, takes an unexpected turn when she discovers he has been hiding a professional secret.

Factoids & Trivia

• The project was in development for several years. Jerry O'Connell originally sold the story to Regency Enterprises in 1999 and initially intended to star in the film. The screenplay was later reworked, while O'Connell retained a story credit.

• Filming took place in Southern California between June and September 2003. UCLA supplied locations for the college scenes, while the Los Angeles Theatre was used for both the opening red-carpet sequence and a movie-theater scene.

• The Huntington Library in San Marino doubled for the exterior of the college in the film.

• The movie was released in 2004, the same year as Chasing Liberty, another romantic comedy about the president's daughter seeking freedom away from the White House. The coincidence led to frequent comparisons between the two productions.

• Vera Wang, Joan Rivers, Melissa Rivers and Jay Leno appear in cameo roles as themselves, adding recognizable television and fashion-world figures to the Washington social scenes.

• Forest Whitaker provides the film's opening and closing narration, framing Samantha's college experience as a transitional chapter in her life.

• With a reported budget of $30 million, the film earned approximately $10.6 million worldwide. Its commercial performance and mostly negative critical reception made it a notable box-office disappointment.