Fool’s Gold stars Matthew McConaughey as an underwater treasure hunter named Ben Finnegan who’s obsessed with finding a lost Spanish treasure known as the Queen’s Dowry, that’s been reportedly sunk somewhere in the Caribbean. Ben’s obsession over this particular treasure has cost him his marriage to Tess (Kate Hudson), who’s working as a steward aboard the luxurious yacht of kindly Nigel Honeycutt (Donald Sutherland), from having been left broke by her union with Ben. When his boat sinks while he’s searching for the treasure, Ben finds himself in trouble with Bigg Bunny (Kevin Hart), a wealthy but extremely ruthless rapper whom he borrowed money from.
Having found a new clue as to the whereabouts of the treasure, Ben teams up once more with his now ex-wife Tess to find the lost loot while dodging the dangers of lethal attacks from Bigg Bunny’s goons, as well as a second underwater treasure hunting team, led by Moe (Ray Winstone). Fool’s Gold is a more slapstick comedy version of Into The Blue, another similarly themed film about treasure divers. But the comedy here is very often way over the top as to be ridiculous--such as the moment when McConaughey’s character is literally blown out of the water with explosives and survives without injury.
Another problem for me is McConaughey himself--a movie "star" whose appeal I could never really understand. If you really like McConaughey, and don’t think he’s a flaming idiot, then Fool’s Gold is for you, because he’s all over this. But I saw this movie mainly because of Kate Hudson, and she’s very good, as usual--handling the both comedy and adventure scenes with aplomb. But a pleasant surprise was actress Alexis Dziena, who plays Gemma, the ditzy daughter of Nigel Honeycutt. Playing a vapid young woman who’s a regular paparazzi-bait, Dziena steals most of the scenes that she’s in (and it probably helps that she’s also clad in a bikini for better of the film’s running time).
The special features on the DVD are very slight, with just a five minute behind
the scenes fluff piece and a gag reel that shows the actors having way too much
fun in a tropical paradise. If you overlook the plot holes (if somebody owns an
island, then they own whatever treasure is found on that property), plus the
stereotypes (not all rappers are murderous thugs), Fool’s Gold--set in the balmy
Caribbean (but actually shot in Australia), with a hardbodied cast frolicking
around in scant clothing--would make for a nice, warm film
piece of fluff to watch during a cold day. Watch it in a double feature
with Into The Blue and you’ve got several hours worth of entertainment that’ll
keep you toasty on the iciest of winter days.
--SF
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