Rating: PG-13
Starring:
Matthew McConaughey as Benjamin Finnegan
Kate Hudson as Tess Finnegan
Donald Sutherland as Nigel Honeycutt
Alexis Dziena as Gemma Honeycutt
Ewen Bremner as Alfonz
Ray Winstone as Moe Fitch
Kevin Hart as Bigg Bunny
Malcolm-Jamal Warner as Cordell
Brian Hooks as Curtis
David Roberts as Cyrus
Michael Mulheren as Eddie
Adam LeFevre as Gary
Rohan Nichol as Stefan
Roger Sciberras as Andras
Special Features:
Fool’s Gold: Flirting with Adventure The Chemistry between two charming contemporary stars
Gag Reel
Other Info:
Widescreen
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
French and Spanish Language
French and Spanish Subtitles
Running Time: 112 Minutes
Synopsis:
The following is from the DVD description:
“Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson go for the gold (and the diamonds emeralds and rubies) as a just-divorced couple who bicker and banter their way through an adventure- and laugh-packed undersea treasure hunt. McConaughey is Finn in love with his ex (Hudson) and in deep with gangster Bigg Bunny. After eight years of searching Finn gets a clue to the whereabouts of the Queen’s Dowry a fabulous fortune that mysteriously disappeared in the Caribbean in 1715. Now all he has to do is get the gold get the girl and get going before Bigg Bunny gets him.”
“Fool’s Gold” is rated PG-13 for action violence, some sexual material, brief nudity and language.
Mini-Review:
“Fool’s Gold” starts out quite strong. There’s a great backstory about a lost Spanish treasure. There’s a hilarious opening where we see Benjamin Finnegan diving while oblivious to the fact that his ship is sinking over his head. It’s a perfect setup. Then the film takes a weird twist where it turns cartoony and the laws of physics are abandoned Finnegan fires a gun underwater, Finnegan gets blown out of the water and into the air with barely a scratch on him, people do various impossible feats. It all is a bit silly and is only missing the cartoon sound effects. But it’s enough to completely turn the tone of the film from romantic adventure to romantic camp. It was a poor decision on the part of the filmmakers and it could have been fixed with a little editing. Throw in some huge plot holes and you have enough to knock down the rating on this film.
Campy undertones aside, I think the filmmakers were going for a modern version of “Romancing the Stone” and they were largely successful. Matthew McConaughey is great as Benjamin Finnegan, a down-on-his-luck treasure hunter. He’s funny and he frequently gets his butt kicked in entertaining ways. (And the ladies will like that he doesn’t have his shirt on for 90% of the film.) He has great chemistry with Kate Hudson as Tess Finnegan. She’s the brains of the duo while he’s the brawn. The bickering between the two is fun with Hudson usually winning the battle of wits. The relationship between the two is very reminiscent of that between Douglas and Turner. They’re backed up by a good supporting cast. Donald Sutherland plays the stuffy multi-millionare, Nigel Honeycutt. Alexis Dziena plays the ditzy daughter, Gemma Honeycutt. Ray Winstone (who has gone from obscurity to notable character actor) has a small but memorable role as rival treasure hunter Moe Fitch. Kevin Hart is reduced to being a stereotypical rapper as Bigg Bunny, but he gets the job done.
If you like romantic comedies, “Romancing the Stone,” Hudson, or McConaughey, then you’ll find “Fool’s Gold” well worth checking out. If you’re looking for a film that’s more adventure than camp, you may be disappointed by it.
This DVD is extremely lean on the bonus features. There’s a gag reel and a very brief featurette on the chemistry between McConaughey and Hudson. It’s quite disappointing.
