FOOL'S GOLD: A Romp For Fools

FOOL'S GOLD (romantic comedy)

Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Kate Hudson, Donald Sutherland, Alexis Dziena and Ewan Bremmer

Director: Andy Tennant

Time: 110 mins

Rating: * * (out of 4)

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? Consider "Fool's Gold" as "Romancing The Mighy Dollar". This teaming up of Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson is another attempt at milking the box-office - after their successful pairing in "How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days" five years ago. Everything in this effort smacks of a rip-off, with recycled themes and scenes.

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? Treasure hunter Ben ‘Finn’ Finnegan (Matthew McConaughey) unearths a map which, he believes, will lead him to a shipwreck loaded with gold. It is said to be a 'Queen's Dowry', circa 1715. His soon-to-be ex-wife Tess (Kate Hudson) thinks he’s a screw missing in his brain. Throw in Donald Sutherland as an English tycoon who lives aboard his yacht with his bubble-headed daughter (Alexis Dziena) and you have a plot that reads like a silly episode of TV's "Relic Hunter".

HITS & MISSES: Just like what we see on the movie poster, "Fool's Gold" seems more interested in showing off Hudson and McConaughey's bronzed bodies than in telling a credible story. The chemistry that they have shown in "How To Lose A Guy" is absent here. The 'action' in the first half of the movie consist of showing how Finn gets his ass kicked, usually by Tess. The closing sequences are reminiscent of a James Bond flick and they are watchable enough. The trouble is that we have to tolerate a great deal of nonsense to get there.

THE LOWDOWN: A dimwitted excuse for a romantic romp probably aimed at fools.