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Fool's Gold
Written by:
John Claflin
 "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."
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