Fool's Gold, 2008

Posted on 7:51 PM, under , , ,

This one never made it into the paper, on account of a spazzy server. At last, it lives!

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Once, the Caribbean was a place of high-seas adventure, rum, and battles with undead pirates. In modern times it is a place of romantic comedies. Instead of swordfights, we have angry rappers, and instead of cursed Aztec gold, we have a lot of shirtless Matthew McConaughey. The trade off is far from ideal, as Fool's Gold proves.

Tess (Kate Hudson) is finally divorcing her jobless, quixotic, often shirtless husband Finn (Matthew McConaughey), having experienced nothing in their marriage but good sex and failed treasure hunting. But Finn, still in love with both Kate and treasure, has coaxed wealthy yacht owner Nigel (Donald Sutherland) and his celebrity-hobnobbing daughter Gemma (Alexis Dziena) into helping him search for the sunken dowry of a Spanish queen.

For a fleeting moment, it appears that Nigel and Gemma may become prospective love interests of Kate and Finn, but no dice. To add to the drama, Nigel just happens to be Kate's employer. And Finn just happens to be hunted by the rapper Bigg Bunny (Kevin Hart), his creditor.

As a romantic comedy, Fool's Gold flounders. Tess and Finn do not work as a couple because neither change—Finn is the same person in the end who Tess wanted to divorce in the beginning. Hudson and McConaughey lack the chemistry to make us suspend disbelief. Either money is the band-aid of all relationship ills, or the American 50% divorce rate has some logic. The comedy half is lackluster and predictable, such as Tess smashing Finn's face in with a cane and storming off. Why is spousal abuse entertaining?

The supporting characters, while closer to caricatures, are more logical and amusing than Tess or Finn. The only love that has any weight in the film is that between Nigel and ditzy Gemma.

Fool's Gold's ultimate failing, however, is that it should never have been a romantic comedy. The backstory of the treasure, a tale of honor and desperation, is the most interesting part of the film but has no payoff. Fool's Gold could have been a rollicking, light adventure film, perhaps a wild dash through the Caribbean featuring a treasure-hunting couple. It is halfway there--the over the top action scenes are the film's strongest point. But instead, the film focuses on the romance while adventure and fun fade into the background. It's hard to concentrate when the landscape is more interesting than the leads.

**/****

"Do you think you could put a shirt on for ONE minute?"
"Bite me."



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