Finn (Matthew McConaughey) is a treasure salvager who’s just been divorced by the woman he loves, Tess (Kate Hudson). He’s also sunk the boat of his gangster financial backer (Kevin Hart) and now is in deep debt. But a clue to the whereabouts of the famous lost treasure he has been searching years for has also appeared, so he races to find the loot and restore the romance. First, he gets back in his ex’s life by convincing her boss to fund the search, then they work together on the hunt before the bad guys catch up with them.

CRITIQUE

Romantic comedies, a genre that is probably my favorite, is quite hit and miss lately. A slight tip one way or the other and the resulting film can be either not funny enough or too broadly campy. Unfortunately, this film is more of a miss than a hit. Fool’s Gold has a story with a sense of fun, but it is piled on top of a lot of flaws, and the appeal of the actors and the solid directing can’t overcome them.

The romantic comedy How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days in 2003 paired Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey and their chemistry was fairly successful in the midst of a story that could use some improvement. You could say the same about Fool’s Gold, though the script is even less successful. For example, an extremely convoluted ship sinking begins the film on what is probably the wrong note. Also striking a silly tone is all the gangster stuff. First of all, the bad guy’s name is Bigg Bunny. Yeah, Bigg Bunny. He is supposed to be a rapper as well. There is also the daughter of the millionaire Tess works for, who is depicted as the ultimate “spoiled famous girl” cliché. These characters just incite no interest.

Then there is the aspect of the treasure hunting itself. Adventure combined with romance can be very entertaining-- like Romancing the Stone-- but this is never really taken advantage of. A scene where the history of the treasure is given breaks the cardinal rule of film scripting-- it tells and doesn’t show. Plus, it’s hard not to wonder how no one else has found this loot first. It can be accessed from the sea, and this is in the Caribbean, where tourist dive and snorkel all the time, so is it really conceivable that no one just happened up on it?

The liveliest moments involve the romance. The genuine emotion the viewer gets from the film comes from the Finn and Tess dynamic. They also get a laugh or two, while the film’s funniest moment comes in a graveyard fight with Bunny and his henchmen. Despite a director and cast who fight hard to display their talents, Fool’s Gold is imperfect in many ways.

THE VIDEO

Widescreen, as usual, is the format here, and it works extremely well for the location shooting this film is full of. The transfer is free of problems as well.

THE AUDIO

Dolby Digital 5.1 surround is by now ubiquitous for the English track, but Spanish and French language tracks in the format are also available on this disc. There are also subtitles for all three languages.

THE EXTRAS

Fool’s Gold: Flirting With Adventure: This doc is mostly interviews with McConaughey, Hudson, and Tennant discussing what it is like for the two lead actors to work together again, after their first teaming in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. There is clearly a fondness they share for working with each other, and a fun to their interaction as well. They also talk just a bit about filming their own stunts. Good but short extra.

Gag Reel: The usual assembly of flubbed lines and scenes interrupted by laughter. It’s fairly funny, and there are more behind-the-scenes funny moments here than you find in other gag reels, so it’s worth one watch.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The script for Fool’s Gold is unfortunately saddled with major flaws that even competent direction and a talented cast can’t cancel them out. Brief bursts of authentic humor or emotion is all the audience can really expect. The very few extra features add little incentive to go beyond renting this DVD.