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Fool’s Gold (2008) Warner Brothers 1 hr. 50 mins. Starring: Kate Hudson, Matthew McConaughey, Donald Sutherland, Ewen Bremner, Roger Sciberras, Alexis Dziena, Kevin Hart, Ray Winstone, Malcolm Jamal Warner Directed by: Andy Tennant Rated: PG-13 Fool's Gold Rating:  
E-MAIL FRANK OCHIENG The “fool’s gold” in this case is the money being thrown down by the clueless moviegoer to see this trivial travelogue. Once again the cheeky tandem of Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson reunite on screen to add pointless pandemonium to the trite, topsy-turvy topical tale of sand and silliness in writer-director Andy Tennant’s Fool’s Gold. Punishing in its charmless and broad execution of over-exaggerated pratfalls and strained slapstick, Tennant (“Hitch”) conveys a lame laugher going through the half-hearted motions. Shamelessly, Fool’s Gold tries its best to appease the selective demographics with its scenic surroundings of the Bahamas. Clearly trying to ape the inexplicable popularity of the National Treasure movie series, this particular Gold has no distinctive shine to its glitter. As a romantic comedy action-adventure, Tennant (and fellow scribers John Clafin and Daniel Zelman) resorts to the cheap-minded gimmickry passing itself off as robust excitement. Also, Gold predictably borrows from almost every contemporary flick having to do with the open sea, conflicted couples and an elusive treasure chest at the end of the roguish rainbow. Movies such as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Six Days, Seven Nights, the aforementioned National Treasure, Pirates of the Caribbean, Romancing the Stone and Into the Blue are picked as labored inspiration for this bombastic beached blunder. When McConaughey and Hudson aren’t shrieking or annoyingly bugging their eyes upon the anticipation of the delirious on-goings, the teenyboppers will get an eyeful of their fetching leading stars. Watch the intentional actions of a shirtless McConaughey strutting around for the hormonal honeys to admire. Also Hudson doesn’t disappoint either. Her curvaceous presence will automatically pop a pimple off of a happy geek’s forehead. The shenanigans in Fool’s Gold are stretched to a ridiculously dumb limit. This callow comedy has no considerable redeeming value whatsoever. Laced with a flat plotline, a grating McConaughney-Hudson teaming, embarrassing black Bahamian caricatures and the overindulgence of splashing water and wayward vessels, Fool’s Gold needs to be buried under a pile of hardened rubble. Ben “Finn” Finnegan (McConaughney) is a treasure hunter with a streak of bad luck because...get this...he has trouble finding that tricky treasure chest. The movie wants us to cozy up to Ben for the mere fact that he’s handsome and hapless—an innocuous combination to consider as we follow his harried exploits. Ben’s partner-in-crime is his ex-wife Tess (Hudson) whose company certainly sets off the sparks as the estranged couple try desperately to track down the lost Spanish treasure. When Ben believes that he finally found his jackpot, he needs some considerable financial backing to seize this incredible loot. This is where Tess’s wealthy boss comes into the picture in the form of absent-minded British multi-millionaire Nigel Honneycutt (Donald Sutherland). Ben needs Nigel’s yacht (and thick wallet) to hatch his ambitious scheme and he isn’t above trying to involve the bankable Brit’s spoiled and clueless daughter Gemma (Alexis Dziena) to gain this favor. Naturally Ben and Tess run into trouble while looking to score a huge payday. Among the duo’s detractors looking to get a cut of their tasty cheese is a local island thug rapper named Bigg Bunny (Kevin Hart), an opportunistic cretin that cramps the Finnegans’ style. Moe Finch (Ray Winstone) is Ben’s fellow competitive treasure hunter (and apparent mentor) that further complicates the treasure-seeking agenda. Overall, Fool’s Gold is a scatterbrained and relentlessly clunky actioner that has all the giddy appeal of a cracked seashell. Both McConaughey and Hudson are synthetically chaotic and trapped in a water-logged wasteland that never registers beyond the dopey sentiments and manufactured mockery. Why established vets such as Sutherland and Winstone signed on for this flaccid flick is totally bewildering to say the least? Dziena’s privileged pop tart Gemma should tweak the interest of the indiscriminate Disney Channel sect. Throwaway parts are given to the likes of Ewen Bremner as an incoherent Ukrainian and former Cosby kid, Malcolm and Eddie and Listen Up TV stalwart Malcolm Jamal Warner as the resident Jamaican. Although glossy with a refreshingly vibrant locale to set the tone for the toothless tactics that abound, Fool’s Gold is nothing more than a bronzed beach ball bouncing around aimlessly. Click here to comment on this review or post your own thoughts. Frank Ochieng © TheWorldJournal.com |
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