Fool's Gold

Of course this is a romantic comedy, so any expectations to the contrary should be discarded right now. Matthew McConaughey ("Sahara" and "A Time to Kill") rarely wears a shirt in real life, so this role as a treasure- hunting beach bum is right down his alley. Kate Hudson ("You, Me and Dupree" and "Raising Helen") has had lots of practice being the exas- perated but level-headed partner in a number of films, and this one is certainly no different.

When our story starts, she is minutes from a final divorce decree, while he is deep-sea diving off a nearby island, looking for a lost treasure. Because his character is, in my opinion, a dimwit, his equipment has been badly maintained, consequently the boat he is using catches fire, blows up and sinks, all without him noticing.

She has been granted ownership of the boat in the divorce decree but since it no longer exists, she can't sell it and go back to school for her PhD. As a result she continues her job as a ship's steward for a wealthy British chap, played by Donald Sutherland ("The Italian Job," "Reign Over Me," and "Fierce People"), who, despite being Canadian, sports at least the WORST British accent I have heard in a long time! Maybe he was trying for too "posh," but it was dreadful!

His twit of a daughter is played by Alexis Dziena ("Havoc" and "Pizza" - nope, I haven't heard of them, either...), while one of the numerous bad guys is played by Ray Winstone ("Beowolf" and "Cold Mountain"). No, he isn't nearly as hunky in real life as they made him with the motion-capture technique when he was the lead in "Beowolf!"

This movie has lots more physical threats than a standard romantic comedy, more slapstick shtick than a mainstream film, but too much marriage-oriented talk for an action movie. The director, Andy Tennant ("Hitch" and "Sweethome, Alabama") surprised me, because there is a LOT of underwater action, speedboat stuff and a seaplane for good measure. I DID like it when the two leads find themselves alone in the runaway plane. Right after he tells her he doesn't know how to fly, he does a quick run-through of all the necessary gauges in the cockpit. She asks him how he knew what to check and he grins, "Play Station!" Made ME laugh! That should give you some idea...