Fool's Gold

Benjamin Finnegan (Matthew McConaughey) in search a ship wreck with gold and other treasure alienates his wife Tess (Kate Hudson,) defaults on a loan from the local bad guy Bigg Bunny (Kevin Hart) and misplaces a boat.

Yet he finds a clue to the treasure and must placate Bigg Bunny, regain the appreciation of his wife, find a sugar daddy to finance his expedition and beat a rival to the claim. The sugar daddy turns out to be Nigel Honeycutt (Donald Sutherland). Nigel is on his own quest to regain if he ever had it the affection of his flibbertigibbet daughter Gemma (Alexis Dziena.)

Who will find the treasure (if there really is one)?
Will love or at least lust reappear to our forlorn treasure hunting couple?
Will daddy ever get the respect of this daughter?
Will we get board watching this formula movie that tries too hard?

I watched the Blu-ray version and even though it could not save the movie, they did a terrific job on the seascape and other visuals.


The Skeleton Key (Full Screen Edition)

Maybe the movie isn't a 5 starer, but the fact that it's an easy / fun movie to watch puts it over the top. The music fits and adds to the enjoyment. Sutherland, Hudson, and MM do a good job. One of those movies you can watch a few times and still enjoy it.

Girls, don't make your boyfriends watch this with you. If you really want to watch it, do so with your girlfriends, (along with The Notebook, just get them both out of your system) and then rent with your boyfriend to a decent flick, like, well, anything that's not this fluff without a heart to it. If you do make your boyfriend watch this pointless movie, you totally owe them a guys' night just to get it out of their heads.

Spending life as a beachbum appeals to Finn (McConaughey). So much so, in fact, that it cost him his wife Tess (Kate Hudson). She was happy to be with him for some time, chasing his dreams of finding sunken Spanish treasure, but inevitably he never managed to find gold or strike it rich. On the day of their wedding annulment, Finn finds a clue that may lead him to the riches that could make him famous and filthy rich, not to mention rekindling his marriage.

Once he links back up with Tess, the two go through relationship struggles, quirky scenarios, and with the help of a rich financier (Sutherland) and his dim-witted daughter Gemma (Dziena), they seek to find their treasures. Facing an unscrupulous and criminal opponent nicknamed Bigg Bunny (Hart) - as well as his mischievous and sometimes bumbling crew - the dangerous race is on for the treasure.

Even though this is a complete rip-off of Into the Blue, and Kate Hudson is nowhere near Jessica Alba, it's a decent date movie nonetheless. Whereas Into the Blue took the drama/suspense angle, Fool's Gold goes the romantic dramedy route. With a few good laughs, a not-so-deep plot (and an appropriate title), the next move is constantly predictable, and it never really has a chance of being hilarious or memorable in any specific way. Perhaps if the cocaine addicted sharks from Into the Blue were used, and Hudson was replaced with Alba, then this would be more highly regarded. Otherwise, it's just two pretty people with average chemistry, in an idiotic yet likeable date movie.

In the end it's like deep-sea fishing and coming up with a license plate. You're happy that something was hooked, but it's ultimately pointless.

Question. What's wrong with this movie?
Answer. Nothing. Nothing other than it didn't contain graphic sex, the dismemberment of human bodies, or the "F" word every 5 seconds and it was a PG-13 rating. Granted it's not Oscar material but if "No Country for Old Men" can win big then who knows... This was a refreshing movie which shows that there is still some talent left in Hollywood that has the ability to write a good story and act. More movies need to be made in this manner. Give me more light hearted comedy mixed with romance, adventure, and some action. Something I can sit down with my wife and kids to watch without having to worry about the Hollywood sewer line being emptied into their heads.
I think that there is a conspiracy in Hollywood to ruin movies like this with bad reviews and discouraging comment. Take the movie "Sahara" for example. This was a funny movie which was harpooned like a humpbacked whale by the critics. Once again this was not Oscar material but it was a good flick which entertained without dumbing down the audience or falling back on sex, drugs and bad language to fill out a poor script.
To those who panned "Fools Gold" I think you need to step down off the high horse. If you can't enjoy a simple well told story like "Fools Gold" for what it is and the talent the cast brings to the movie than there is indeed no hope for Hollywood.