Fool's Gold

Let’s face it, the target demo of frumpy, big-bummed banker ladies who get excited to watch crap like this aren’t exactly looking for a cleverly crafted screenplay or a unique vision. They’re looking to see Matthew McConaughey run around without a shirt for an hour or two so that they can gasp, squeal and mess up their unmentionables. In this capacity, the film delivers. That said, with neither the quirky charm of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days nor the tongue-in-cheek adventuring of Romancing the Stone, Gold is left to rely on the charm of its leads (McConaughey and Hudson) to propel the movie forward. Unfortunately, it seems that the comely duo have lost their spark, leaving the film to flounder about aimlessly until the overblown resolution. The film follows Benjamin Finnegan (McConaughey) as he dips into and out of trouble while searching for a missing 18th century treasure. His obsession over this odyssey has cost him his marriage to the feisty Tess (Kate Hudson), who attempts to rebuild her life after the fact by getting a job on Nigel Honeycutt’s (Donald Sutherland) mega-yacht. Conveniently, Benjamin’s exploits find him landing aboard said yacht and using his natural charm to finagle Nigel and his moron daughter Gemma (Alexis Dziena) into helping him find the treasure. Gold really is as bland and predictable as it sounds, standing out only in the many bizarre accents that several members of the very diverse cast are forced to speak with. Ray Winstone tries on an American drawl, while Ewan Bremner goes for Ukrainian and Malcolm-Jamal Warner spouts out a garbled Caribbean accent. Impressive cinematography and half-naked actors should please viewers on an aesthetic level but stereotypical characters and an overlong running time make the film almost unbearable by the final reel. The DVD includes a brief gag reel, as well as a "making of” featurette where Kate and Matthew talk about their chemistry. This too feels pre-packaged and insincere.