Reviewed by Johnny McNair 

Warner Home Video – 112 minutes – 2008 – Rated PG-13 – 1080p Widescreen 2.35:1 – Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Let’s just come right out and say it, the only reason the movie Fool’s Gold was made was to cash in on the success of the 2003 film How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, which was the first pairing of stars Kate Hudson and Mathew McConaughey. What may have been beautiful chemistry five years ago definitely fizzled on the set of Fool’s Gold, because besides some great tropical scenery, there is nothing cinematic about this movie, which plays out like an episode of The Love Boat. If you wish to proceed further, Fool’s Gold is available on Blu-ray from Warner Home Video, but be warned, the title says it all.

THE MOVIE

Fool’s Gold is a romantic comedy (I think), revolving around Ben and Tess Finnegan (McConaughey and Hudson), who have just divorced after a brief and troublesome marriage. But when Ben learns the possible location of a sunken Spanish treasure worth millions, the two re-unite to seek it out. Their main obstacle is the island’s mobster, who Ben owes money too, named Bigg Bunny (Kevin Hart), and his bumbling thugs played by Brian Hooks and Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who looks as if he’s been spending his Cosby Show residual money eating cheeseburgers all day. With the help of a millionaire played by Donald Sutherland, who is desperately trying to bond with his teenage daughter, Alexis Dziena, Ben and Tess attempt to out-do the mobster and find the treasure in hopes of having fortune and glory, and hopefully re-kindling their love for each other.

In a nutshell that’s the story, but now the hard part is sitting through this mess and trying to find some entertainment value. Director Andy Tennant, who’s previous film, Hitch, with Will Smith was a mega hit, looks as if he left the film on autopilot, because there are some scenes in this film where it looks as if he just let the camera roll and hoped that some magic would happen, but instead you’re just left with actors saying their lines on cue.

Mathew McConaughey desperately trying to use his charm to make the film work, but there are times when you look at his face and it’s obvious he knows that he’s not buying it either. Fool’s Gold could have been a very cool romantic adventure comedy on the level of Romancing the Stone. All the elements are there to make the two films similar, but instead of focusing on the heart of the story, which is the two main character’s love/hate relationship and the quest for the treasure, the film throws in all this side plot and characters that tear the film down. You won’t care about the millionaire and his ditzy daughter, and the villain stupid and comical that there is never an instance where you feel the characters are in any true danger when they go against them.

And as for this being a so-called date movie, by the end of the film you may think that McConaughey and Hudson’s characters had the right idea by divorcing each other from the start. Talk about phoning it in, these two would have been better off sending their stand-ins to do the movie. Fool’s Gold can end up becoming a new conspiracy for this generation, because you’re really not sure who the blame for it being so badly. Was it the writers? It took three people to write it (Yes, three people received a check for this). Was it the director for half-assing the project? Or was it McConaughey and Hudson for not seeing in advance that something was really wrong here? No one will ever know the true answers to any of the questions, and being that the film, while not as big as How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, still managed to make some money, in the end no one will care. Spend your two hours doing something useful, there’s nothing here to see.

VIDEO

The one saving grace of Fool’s Gold is that it looks so damn good. With is 1080p image and 2.35:1 aspect ratio you will be mesmerized by the island scenery particularly during the daylight scenes. Some these shots are so crystal clear that you’ll think you’re staring out of a window. Flesh tones look perfect, and for the ladies who like to watch Mathew McConaughey walk around without wearing a shirt in hi-definition, your dream has come true. The night scenes are not as generous, showing a lot of flat tones and spots of grain, but fortunately this flick is 80% daylight and outdoors. If Best Buy needs a new film to loop on their HDTV’s to convince people it’s a step up in image quality, all the managers need to be informed to slide in a copy of Fool’s Gold.

AUDIO

There was only a standard Dolby Digital 5.1 sound track offered, which is the same for the regular DVD, so there’s no need to turn on your surround sound system for this one. The sound is as average as can be, even in some of the action sequences when it could have really been exploited; nothing was done to enhance the audio experience. The audio team probably watched the film and said, “why bother?”

EXTRAS

Wow…being that the bonus materials are completely anemic says a lot about how even Warner felt about the film. There’s only a bad five minute featurette and a lame two minute gag reel. That’s it. This is one of those times you wished there was an audio commentary just so you could hear the director talk his way out of this.

‘Flirting with Adventure’ is a five minute promotional feature talking about the re-pairing of Kate Hudson and Mathew McConaughey on screen, and how this will be the best romantic comedy ever made…blah…blah…blah. It’s not even worth the five minutes.

Then there’s a two-minute gag reel with actors flubbing their lines. Zzzzzzzz.

BOTTOM LINE

To put is simply, Fool’s Gold sucks. The only thing this Blu-ray has going for it is the incredible image quality, thanks to the tropical cinematography. Other than that, this is a just one of those movies you watch on an airplane to knock off a couple of hours. Unless you’re absolutely Mathew McConaughey’s biggest fan, there’s no other reason to own this Blu-ray.

SCORES (Out of 5):

The Movie: 2.0

Video: 4.5

Sound: 2.5

Extras: 1.5

Bottom Line: 2.0