Fool's Gold

For those of you wondering whether Matthew McConaughey or Kate Hudson were officially starting their run for the Oscar gold, or if director Andy Tennant (Hitch, Ever After) was suddenly switching gears to make a serious movie, I'm here to let you know that the wait is still on. Not unless "Best Exaggeration Acting" has been recently added to the Academy Awards. That's not to say the movie isn't enjoyable. It's silly and cheesy and dumb at times, but I probably laughed out loud at least a half dozen times while I sat next to Kath during date night movie time. I usually cut a film some slack if something happens within the first 5 minutes to let the audience know that it isn't meant to be taken too seriously. That's usually my signal to just sit back, relax and try and get a few laughs in. The signal in Fool's Gold was loud and clear before the first line of the movie was even spoken. It's your basic treasure hunting movie...if there is such a thing. Tess(Hudson) and Finn(McConaughey) are privy to some information they've pieced together over an 8 year rocky relationship about an enormous amount of gold that had sunk in a shipwreck in the Caribbean 300 years ago. Between getting divorced and fighting off a posse of thugs that work for a murderous Rap Star, they find time to convince Tess's boss, who owns a yacht, to go on this adventure with them. Complications arise when a rival treasure hunter shows up and the rapper, Big Bunny, starts issuing death threats. There are too many stories going on in this movie. It's hard to know if you are really supposed to pay close attention to Donald Sutherland's character as a multimillionaire who is trying to salvage a relationship with his daughter, or if Big Bunny is really that bad. There is a semi-decent plot somewhere at the core...in fact, there's a 5 minute scene in the middle of the movie where Finn and Tess are trying to tell the story behind the treasure they are seeking to Nigel(Sutherland) that actually was intriguing...I want to see that movie when it's made. Other than that, look for some cheap laughs, lots of wide-eyed expressions (enough to make any drama teacher anywhere cringe) and hot bodies everywhere which turn out to be a nice distraction from the acting!!