All you fans of the 2003 film How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days can look forward to a re-teaming of the adorable actors in this Friday’s release Fool’s Gold. This time the locale has taken on a decidedly tropical feel to it and director Andy Tennant (Hitch) has added some action and adventure to the mix.
Fool’s Gold: that’s what treasure hunter Ben “Finn” Finnegan (Matthew McConaughey) is ever in pursuit of. Specifically he’s hot on the trial of The Queen’s Dowry – a fabled treasure of 40 chests of unimaginable wealth. His relentless quest has claimed his reputation, his boat and his marriage to Tess (Kate Hudson). Literally on the day of his divorce Finn stumbles onto a significant clue but understandably has trouble convincing his former partner/now ex-wife to throw away her plans for a normal life and help them complete their years-long obsession.
Enter multimillionaire Nigel Honeycutt (Donald Sutherland), owner of a luxury cruiser and Tess’s employer. Finn charms Honeycutt and his vacuous daughter Gemma (Alexis Dziena) into funding the salvage of the booty. Only our intrepid crew is not alone in these waters. Finn’s mentor Moe Fitch (Ray Winstone) has caught wind of Finn’s find from his previous disgruntled backer Bigg Bunny (Kevin Hart). Finn and Tess are fighting the odds and their attraction to each other as they race to the finish line and the history books.
If you’ve watched the television spots for this film I think you’re probably thinking this is more Romantic Comedy than anything else. It’s a confusing strategy on the studio’s part since the movie is really more an Action/Adventure than Rom/Com. For my money, that’s the interesting bit.
Finn is less scrupulous than Ben Gates of the National Treasure series and less militant, more laid back than McConaughey’s other salvager character Dirk Pitt in Sahara. He’s kinda like Indiana Jones in board shorts. There isn’t much to Finn: he’s a lot of charm, doggedly determined and that’s about it. In that regard McConaughey was the perfect casting choice. (I suspect this character may be eerily close to how Matthew is in real life.)
Kate’s Tess is a little harder to read. Apart from a few “freak-out” moments she’s fairly wooden. But it is quickly apparent that Tess was the true brains of the operation and Hudson just naturally exudes that intelligence and grace.
Much of the comedy comes at the expense of the character of Gemma. You know the expression: ‘It’s a good thing you’re beautiful”? That applies to this delightfully dim character who strives to be substantial but fails more frequently than she succeeds. Watching Alexis you’ll find yourself wondering just which of the current young celebutants she may be basing her performance on.
I only have two comments about Ray Winstone in this film: one, he’s not in it enough and two, I’m not entirely sure about that Southern accent he uses. Side note: a “Cosby Show” alum has a small role in this film. Have a good time with that!
I think the key to this film is expectations. This is a fun movie not, rocket science. It’s the perfect antidote to those winter blahs you are feeling. Shot sumptuously by Don Burgess with Queensland Australia subbing for the Florida Keys and surrounding islands the film will make you hunger for golden beaches and crystal blue waters. The two leads are charming, gorgeous and look fantastic in beachwear. There’s something for the guys and the ladies. The pacing tends to lag in the middle but it revs up towards the end. Throw in a few laughs, some romance and I don’t think you can expect much more from a film like this.
Running Time: 113 minutes
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