Missing treasure
If
you thought National Treasure was silly then wait till
you see this lot. At least National Treasure was entertaining
and amusing. Fool’s Gold is just an insult to the
DVD watching public, unless you’re 8 years old you’ll
wonder why they bothered to make it. It would seem Hollywood is
bitten with the treasure bug, but this entry is not going to encourage
many followers. We have the original treasure hunt for air heads.
In Key West, Florida, Tess (Kate Hudson) is busy
trying to divorce her husband Ben “Finn” Finnegan
(Matthew McConaughey) who arrives late at the proceedings in time
to hear he’s divorced and the estate (consisting of a boat
that’s he just sunk) awarded to Tess. However he’s
hot on the trail of a great sunken Spanish treasure which in a
convoluted history seems to be not far off the Florida coast and
in his grasp. Unsurprising Tess and Finn later team up again to
try recover the wealth beneath the seas. He enlists the aid of
millionaire Nigel Honeycutt (Donald Sutherland) aboard his luxury
yacht with bimbo daughter Gemma (Alexis Dziena). To please his
spoilt brainless daughter Nigel agrees to finance them in the
mission to find the loot.
However the irresponsible Finn is also in debt to
hip hop shyster Bigg Bunney (Kevin Hart). As well rival treasure
hunter Moe Fitch (Ray Winstone) keeps a close eye on Finn’s
activities hoping he’ll lead to the resting place of the
gold. All three teams are seeking the treasure and watching each
other. But the first half of the movie is so sluggish and frankly
stupid you’ve lost any semblance of interest by the time
the action actually heats up. 
To
add to insult the best gags (which are not sidesplitting anyway)
you’ve seen in the trailer to the movie. The running joke
of Finn being whacked over the head with a blunt instrument at
regular intervals loses steam very quickly. And Alexis Dziena’s
bubbly “I’m so silly” act will have bimbos cringing.
As a romantic adventure/comedy its dead in the water. The only
redeeming feature is the pleasant photography of Queensland passed
off as the Florida coast.
Really Donald Sutherland, much in demand in TV (Commander
in Chief), and Ray Winstone (Beowulf) should know
better. And why are both of them saddled with whacky accents Sutherland
doing a plummy Anthony Hopkins with his mouth full, while Ray
Winstone tries an impression of Colonel Sanders on the turps.
Poor Sutherland looks totally bemused in his close-ups, as if
he can’t believe he’s end up with a script this bad.
It’s sad to see an actor of his talent wasted. There’s
even a Don Knotts-style character dredged up in the persona of
Ewan Bremner (Trainspotting) who’s not used to
advantage.
Earlier McConaughey and Hudson enjoyed some chemistry
in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days; but it's largely missing
this time. Not that the pair don’t look good together comparing
suntans. Sadly their acting ability if any is hardly called upon
by director Andy Tennant. In the past he managed the fate of other
modest offerings like Fools Rush In and Sweet Home
Alabama. Here he’s at an all time low.
John Bale
