Beautiful scenery doesn’t save Fool’s Gold

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March 19, 2008

When I first saw the commercial for Fool’s Gold, I thought “a simple, romantic comedy in a nice tropical setting with good-looking actors…maybe I’ll get a few laughs.” However, the shots of beautiful beach scenery and Matthew McConaughey’s abs are about all the movie has to offer. The producers must have thought that the attractiveness of the actors alone was enough to carry the movie, but it does not make up for the confusing plot, stereotypical characters, and the $8 I spent on this movie.

The plot seemed predictable from the beginning: a motivated, uptight woman wants to divorce her immature, beach-bum husband, but they go on a treasure hunt and end up getting back together. It’s true that that’s the main story line, but little did I know that there would be a large supply of random new characters and sub-plot lines popping up in almost every scene. I couldn’t even keep track of names, let alone who worked for whom, who wanted what, or who wanted to kill whom.

Finn, (Matthew McConaughey) and Tess, (Kate Hudson) are recently divorced, against Finn’s will. They share one interest: seaching for treasure. In a very complicated way, the two re-connect on a millionaire’s yacht, complete with an extremley obnoxious heiress. They team up to search for a lost Spanish treasure, but there are a few other groups of stereotypical bad guys that they are competing with to find the treasure first. The least original of which is a rapper, called “Bigg Bunny.”

The most entertaining part of the movie is all of the unrealistic shenanigans that happen to different characters, such as boat explosions, weak fights, and plane crashes. It’s an attempt by the director to make this into an action-romantic-comedy, which doesn’t exactly flow. If you’re looking for a movie with a intriging plot and solid characters, skip Fool’s Gold. Even if you’re just looking for great scenery, I might recommend a Bahamas tourist book over this.

by Meredith Neville, staff writer

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