Fool's Gold
In advertising for this movie, the trailer has The Police's "Message in a Bottle" playing over the treasure hunting actions taking place in the sparkling blue of Key West. I think that song is spot on when the lyrics recite, "I'll send an S.O.S. to the world," because I think the big brains behind this egregiously handled piece of work are sending some sort of subliminal message.
Fool's Gold tells the story of Benjamin Finnegan (Matthew McConaughey), an irresponsible treasure hunter recently divorced against his will from Tess (Kate Hudson), whose joint love is rekindled by the newfound sense of adventure for buried treasure. The blonde duo hook up with millionaire Nigel Honeycutt (Donald Sutherland) and his bimbo daughter, Gemma (Alexis Dziena), to get financing for their treasure hunt. Along the way, greedy moneygrubbing villains try to intervene since Benjamin is indebt to the head honcho.
Fool's Gold brings nothing new to the table as it tries to mimic recent box office successes in its genre, such as National Treasure and The Da Vinci Code. Those were clever and kept you intrigued because it wasn't just an exciting and interesting adventure, but you felt connected to the characters. With Fool's Gold, the made-up historical matchmaking of clues is uninteresting and at times fruitless.
Matthew McConaughey reprises his role of the handsome, tan beach bum with a Texas accent that makes the ladies woozy. The charm radiates out of him making young Gemma surrender to him and Tess eventually fall back into his arms. His charm adds to the moments of tolerable humor. In any movie he's in, he plays the same guy. This movie was perfect for him because here his naked, golden pecs were able to bask under the golden Floridian sun.
The characters' development was diminutive and just didn't establish a connection between them and the audience, resulting in a carefree sense on my part. Tess's condescending and pretentious tone was disturbing, mainly because she didn't have anything in her life that really made it justified. I'd be lying if I said that Tess was the movie's biggest flaw. It would have to be some of the absurd, nonsensical dialogue that flowed out of Gemma.
The only saving grace for Fool's Gold would have to be McConaughey's occasional jokes that seep through his charmed persona as well as the beauty of the island scenery in the vast deep blue of the ocean.
Why Donald Sutherland agreed to do this in an upscale British accent is beyond me. Maybe he was drunk driving like his son, "Jack Bauer," when he accepted this role. Fool's Gold dishes out a few laughs, but it certainly doesn't strike gold in this hedonistic paradise for a setting. If you like tediously flat movies and dry plotlines that could make you drift into a sound slumber, then see this or its counterpart, Into the Blue, where they prove that you don't need talent to make a movie.