Fool and the Gang
Posted on February 7, 2008
 By Josh Moss
josh@louisville.com
Judging by the trailers, it seemed like it would be easy to write a lead to a review of the new Matthew McConaughey-Kate Hudson movie: “Only a fool would pay to see Fool’s Gold.” Don’t get the wrong impression. There’s plenty wrong with director Andy Tennant’s sun-splashed, deep-sea caper. But, frankly, the two lead actors are just likeable enough to prevent the ship from sinking altogether.
McConaughey and Hudson teamed up in 2003’s How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and this time around their on-screen chemistry is the same. They seem to enjoy working together. Because of that, we’ll go ahead and say it: Fool’s Gold, open February 8, is a tolerable chick flick, one that guys should be able to survive come Valentine’s Day.
And it’s not as if Tennant, of Hitch and Sweet Home Alabama directing fame, is trying to sell Fool’s Gold as something it’s not. He knows it is simply a vehicle to flaunt McConaughey, shirtless in board shorts, and Hudson, tan in a bikini. For that he succeeds. Not really the stuff Oscar is made of.
We meet McConaughey, as Ben “Finn” Finnegan, scuba diving near the Bahamas, searching for a nearly 300-year-old Spanish treasure worth $500 million. He’s using equipment that coughs up sparks and catches his boat on fire, sinking it to the ocean’s floor. It’s not a total disaster, though, because Finn discovers a shard of a glass plate that could lead to the very riches he’s been looking for.
This is exactly the kind of behavior that angers Hudson’s character, Tess Finnegan, who can’t wait to divorce him. She’s a steward on the yacht of millionaire Nigel Honeycutt (Donald Sutherland), whose airhead, socialite daughter Gemma (Alexis Dziena) scores covers on OK! Magazine. Tess used to enjoy treasure hunting herself but now harbors lofty goals of getting a college degree in Chicago.
Following the divorce, Finn — in debt to rapper Bigg Bunny (not joking) and unaware that Tess works for Nigel — makes his way onto the yacht, hoping the mogul will finance his adventure. Everybody gets excited, Tess included, and the mission begins in no time, with Bigg Bunny and another group of treasure hunters not far behind.
It’s predictable. It’s stale. Unfortunately, there’s no sense of urgency — or clarity — as Finn and Tess begin to unravel the convoluted mystery. The corny, extravagant finale is difficult to watch. The hasty storyline involving Nigel and Gemma belongs in no movie. But somehow, even amid the problems — don’t forget the overdone physical humor involving frying pans and golf clubs and shovels — McConaughey and Hudson make it fun.
In the past, both have shown fine acting talents. (McConaughey in 2006’s We Are Marshall and Hudson in 2000’s Almost Famous.) But they also seem proud wearing their crowns as the chick flick king and queen. If you can stomach Fool’s Gold’s message — sometimes the treasure we need most is right in front of us — take pleasure in the mindless escapade. Nothing foolish about that.
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