Chasse au trésor

My 11 year old daughter and I, big fans of "How to Lose a Guy..." went to see this last night because there really was not another movie we could agree on. I was reluctant based on the HORRIBLE reviews this movie received, which I now believe were completely undeserved.

I'm as big a movie snob as anyone. Yes, I saw "La Vie En Rose" in the theater the week it came out. I love the Coen Brothers and anything written by Charlie Kaufman. I'm no stranger to so-called "good" films.

But guys - if you're looking for high-brow, why oh why would you expect it from Kate and Matthew. I mean, have you BEEN to a movie in last ten years? She is Goldie Hawn's daughter. I mean, duh! We were very pleasantly surprised by this movie. The scenery and cinema photography were beautiful. I agree completely with another commenter's statement that it was a great cure for SAD. This movie was fun, and sweet, and everything you'd expect from this cast.

Go see this and have fun!

I found this movie so very entertaining. I thought Alexis Dziena who plays Gemma was so adorable, innocent, sweet, and fun. She brought a lot of entertainment to the movie and was able to hold her own among a very talented cast, especially the experienced pros. I didn't want to see this movie because I found the commercials boring and dull and also silly. I was happy I went along with friends, we all laughed, held out breath in places, rooted for the good guys to get that good. Kate Hudson and Matthew Matthew McConaughey are a good team together, and hope they do some more films together in the future. They're good together in comedy. I could also go on and on about the cast members who were a pleasant surprise to see.

"Fools Gold" centers on an almost divorced, or newly divorced, or still madly-in-love couple (all 3 apply) searching for Spanish treasure that was sunk in a hurricane in 1715. Does the movie succeed as balmy escapism from the winter doldrums? Let's see…

Is there action?: Yes, the action was there, fun at parts, but broken up by a lot of talking that really didn't advance the plot, but worked well to confuse it (I mean a lot of talking). There was also the sound of crickets chirping that at some points was so loud it drowned out the dialogue. On purpose perhaps?

Did the actors have chemistry?: Yes, in "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" they did. However, both Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson are likable enough off-screen and in other films that you want to root for them, despite the flaws of this film.

How 'bout the location?: I was never quite sure where the story was supposed to be set. The real 1715 fleet went down off the Eastern coast of Florida near Cape Canaveral. At one point in the movie they said they were in Key West, but I've been there enough times to know that those mountainous islands in the distance weren't anywhere near Duval Street. The movie "The Deep," which also involved treasure hunters searching for the 1715 treasure, also suffered from a lack of appreciation of history, setting the wreck in Bermuda. But who can complain when you have a salty Robert Shaw and Jacqueline Bisset in a wet T-shirt?

Funny?: The laughs were few and far between. Theo Huxtable from "The Cosby Show" was one of the baddies, and I think his pal in the film might have been Cockroach (no word on whether or not their knowledge of the 1715 treasure was based on "Cleland Notes"). I remember laughing at parts, and then waiting to laugh again, and I was still waiting when the lights came up and the usher rolled a trashcan in. I was still waiting when I got in my car. I'm still waiting.

All bad?: What the movie does well is gets you out of the cold for a couple hours. There were picturesque vistas of the tropics, girls in bikinis, palm trees blowing in the breeze, and Bob Marley music in the background. You may fool yourself for a moment into believing that you're actually in the Caribbean, if you sneak in a Pina Colada or two, or three.

Post Script: If you want to read a real thrilling, funny, and sexy adventure story about treasure hunting for the 1715 fleet, try reading Tom Ryan's novel "A Sword for Pizarro."

For the life of me, I cannot figure out why this movie is getting as lousy reviews as it is. I walked out of the theatre quite pleased; even if this movie will not get an Oscar, it earned the price of my ticket. It's campy, silly, and bright, and there is nothing like a fluffy romp around the sunny islands to cure those winter blues.

Admittedly, it's a contrived, predictable mystery, but that proves to be the focus rather than the romantic comedy that was promoted. But in the spirit of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, it's a spunky predictable mystery. No, the characters were not all complex, but at least the powers that be went to the trouble of making them entertaining and personable.

I liked the idea of looking for sunken treasure. I liked the upbeat island soundtrack. I liked the funny characters. I liked the pretty scenes and the silly lines. I liked the random explosions and fight scenes, as pleasantly ridiculous as they were.

Kate and Matthew have the chemistry they had in "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days". They have the sunny dispositions to pull off a mindless-but-fun storyline and to work with a wacky cast.

It's mind candy in all its fluffy goodness.

My expectations for this movie were very low going in, and I would say that the movie met them. I expected a fun, exotic, exciting adventure, which the movie delivered upon. It is a fairly predictable movie, but always fun to watch Mathew McConaughey play the guy who hasn't grown up along with Kate Hudson playing the lady who wishes he would. Their chemistry is great, and isn't that all you really expect from a movie like this, regardless of plot?

The only thing that didn't fit in the movie was a couple of overly bloody scenes (on an absolute basis the blood was very minor, but the fact that they showed up at all was surprising.)

Not the best movie you will ever see, but will certainly give you a break from all this extreme winter weather we have been having.