Fool's Gold (2008)
Directed by Andy Tennant
Treasure hunter Ben "Finn" Finnegan has sunk his marriage to Tess and his trusty boat in his obsessive quest to find the legendary Queen's Dowry. When he finds a vital clue that may finally pinpoint the treasure's whereabouts, he drags Tess and her boss, billionaire Nigel Honeycutt, along on the hunt. But Finn is not the only one interested in the gold; his former mentor-turned-enemy Moe Fitch, hired by rapper-turned-gangster Bigg Bunny, will stop at nothing to beat him to it.
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But where Hitch was all about the characters, Fool's Gold is much more concerned with external plot elements, infusing its rom-com storyline with treasure hunting a la Indiana Jones or National Treasure.
The aptly titled "Fool's Gold" is a retread of a retread – an attempt to cash in on such movies as the "National Treasure" series, which in turn were rip-offs of "Indiana Jones," which, as it happens, is being revived this summer.
The movie by that name appears to be a romantic comedy (maybe even a good one!), but is actually a "National Treasure" -style adventure caper that happens to involve a bickering couple.
After a few reels of hearing characters spout Weird Lost Factoids of History (alternated with bursts of ``Oh my GOD!!''), I started to get that queasy, sheepish, National Treasure-y feeling of being the stupidest kid in the room.
Think "National Treasure," but with more romantic bickering and less clothing.
No doubt conceived as an underwater version of National Treasure, Andy Tennant's film plays like a Three Stooges movie with scuba gear.
This one was helmed by Andy Tennant, who's best known for such instantly forgettable popcorn flicks as "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Hitch."
Andy Tennant only has a few movies under his belt (including Ever After and Sweet Home Alabama), but with 2005's blockbusting Hitch, Tennant proved to be one of the reigning kings of romantic comedy, more than earning dibs on the Valentines slot for his new movie, Fool's Gold.
It’s a bland motion picture, but what could anyone expect when handing excitement and peppered banter to the man who gave the world “Hitch,” “Sweet Home Alabama,” and the Olsen Twins’ “It Takes Two.” Tennant doesn’t have the muscles for this level of play, staging lethargic chase sequences and failing to locate a heartbeat of tension throughout the entire film.
And I knew that the director, Andy Tennant, is a competent craftsman of mainstream comedies like Hitch and Sweet Home Alabama.
Director Andy Tennant, no stranger to chick flicks and rom-coms ( "Anna and the King," "Ever After," "Sweet Home Alabama," "Hitch" ), here downplays the romance angle in favor of find-the-treasure skulduggery.
For us, the film has a pair of attractive stars in Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey, a pair that caught the public's fancy well enough in "How to Lose a Guy" that they teamed up again in 2008 for "Fool's Gold."
Five years ago, Hollywood paired Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey in the romantic comedy How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and the match rewarded the filmmakers with box office receipts exceeding $100 million.
And the spark between her and McConaughey (equally sparkly in "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days") feels real enough that when I came home I checked online for evidence of a past romance.
Ben 'Finn' Finnegan (Matthew McConaughey, "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days") has driven wife Tess (Kate Hudson, "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days") away with his obsession of finding the Queen's Dowry, 40 chests of Spanish treasure lost in eighteenth century seas.
But "Fool's Gold," which reunites the stars of "How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days," is unworthy of their talents.
They last teamed up in "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days," an inexplicably successful romantic comedy that proved you don't need chemistry to make moolah.
As Finn and partner Alfonz (Ewen Bremner, "Trainspotting," "Death at a Funeral" sift through the Caribbean sand tens of feet underwater, their generator on their boat above sparks a piece of paper that floats about, eventually setting the thing ablaze.