This entry was posted on Sunday, February 10th, 2008 at 11:20 pm and is filed under Action/Comedy, F, Movie Reviews, NEW ON VIDEO, Romance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Director: Andy Tennant
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Kate Hudson, Donald Sutherland, Alexis Dziena, Ray Winstone, Ewen Bremner, Kevin Hart, Malcolm Jamal-Warner, Brian Hooks
Co-writer/director, Andy Tennant (Sweet Home Alabama, Hitch), is back in the rom-com business again with this romantic/comedy adventure film that is blessed with some beautiful, Caribbean scenery, and saddled with a variable speed formula story that roars forward with exhilaration at times, and falls back into a putt-putt, check-your-watch, pace at others. Matthew McConaughey is at home as a charming underachiever, but Kate Hudson doesn’t always seem to know how to play his frustrated soon-to-be ex-wife. The direction is similarly erratic with some nice shots while others seem rushed, and the action often falls flat.
Matthew McConaughey is an irresponsible, but charming, treasure hunter, named Finn, who starts out pretty down on his luck when he accidentally sinks his own boat. This puts him in deadly debt to a silly gangsta rap crew lead by Bigg Bunny (Kevin Hart). As if this isn’t enough, his estranged wife, and former treasure hunting companion, Tess (Kate Hudson), is divorcing him. Fate (and coincidental cinema at its best) intervenes, however, to land Finn on Tess’ employer’s boat, and soon his passion and charm has won over her bored billionaire boss, Nigel (Donald Sutherland) and his dippy, socialite daughter, Gemma, and the well-appointed yacht is turned around to go on a treasure hunt. There are, of course, others after the treasure as well, including partner-turned rival, Moe (the voice of Beowulf).
I rather enjoyed Fool’s Gold, probably for the same reasons that I like Overboard (coincidentally starring Kate’s Mom, Goldie Hawn) and, to a lesser extent, Cocktail. There are obscenely expensive boats and a lavish lifestyle that I can’t even afford to buy a magazine about, beautiful paradise settings and attractive women in bathing suits. If the preview leads you to believe that you won’t like it, then you won’t. It is exactly what it appears to be. If, however, you just want some light, fluffy fare that will make you wish for a hot holiday in some island country with steel drums, overpriced girly drinks and under priced beer, then you can probably look past the flaws here, (and there are many), enough to enjoy a two hour Caribbean getaway.
