2008 Woodie Awards
'Fool's Gold' shimmers, just barely
Benjamin Billman
Issue date: 2/11/08 Section: Intermission
When I was a child, I remember finding a piece of pyrite (or Fool's Gold) while on a trip to Colorado.
I was wholly excited, thinking I had found gold, only to face minor disappointment when I was told it wasn't gold.
However, a child's love for rocks soon brightened my spirits. Since Pyrite is still a pretty stone, I soon became happy with my choice.
This was a lot like watching the movie "Fool's Gold." Matthew McConaughey, famous for his roles in such recent movies as "Sahara" and "We Are Marshall," plays an excellent, if tired character (it seems McConaughey liked the movie "Sahara" so much he wanted to play Dirk Pitt again).
Along with a still stunning Kate Hudson (who plays his recently divorced wife), McConaughey's character demonstrates a clear love for his field (treasure hunting) and draws the reader into his chosen quest.
The quest is fairly interesting, nothing like the old and over and over stories such as the quest for Atlantis or others.
Along with the main plot, director Andy Tennant does an excellent job of bringing in several different plots as well, helping the main one at the same time.
The main plot is as simple as it is intriguing. Benjamin Finnegan (McConaughey) and Tess Finnegan (Hudson) are just divorced spring break sweethearts who still share a love for each other and for nautical treasure hunting.
They end up enlisting the aid of geriatric playboy Nigel Honeycutt (Donald Sutherland, who plays the same character excellently in every movie he has ever been in).
Through some interesting shenanigans (as mentioned earlier, the sub-plots in this movie are more helpful than a hindrance for the main story) with great supporting characters, Benjamin and Tess plow forward through a mass of complications including a corrupt rapper, the grizzled veteran of treasure diving and the spoiled rich kid, but still emerge at the end, back in love and back together.
All in all, this movie is good but not perfect, shiny but not valuable.
Aptly named, indeed.
I was wholly excited, thinking I had found gold, only to face minor disappointment when I was told it wasn't gold.
However, a child's love for rocks soon brightened my spirits. Since Pyrite is still a pretty stone, I soon became happy with my choice.
This was a lot like watching the movie "Fool's Gold." Matthew McConaughey, famous for his roles in such recent movies as "Sahara" and "We Are Marshall," plays an excellent, if tired character (it seems McConaughey liked the movie "Sahara" so much he wanted to play Dirk Pitt again).
Along with a still stunning Kate Hudson (who plays his recently divorced wife), McConaughey's character demonstrates a clear love for his field (treasure hunting) and draws the reader into his chosen quest.
The quest is fairly interesting, nothing like the old and over and over stories such as the quest for Atlantis or others.
Along with the main plot, director Andy Tennant does an excellent job of bringing in several different plots as well, helping the main one at the same time.
The main plot is as simple as it is intriguing. Benjamin Finnegan (McConaughey) and Tess Finnegan (Hudson) are just divorced spring break sweethearts who still share a love for each other and for nautical treasure hunting.
They end up enlisting the aid of geriatric playboy Nigel Honeycutt (Donald Sutherland, who plays the same character excellently in every movie he has ever been in).
Through some interesting shenanigans (as mentioned earlier, the sub-plots in this movie are more helpful than a hindrance for the main story) with great supporting characters, Benjamin and Tess plow forward through a mass of complications including a corrupt rapper, the grizzled veteran of treasure diving and the spoiled rich kid, but still emerge at the end, back in love and back together.
All in all, this movie is good but not perfect, shiny but not valuable.
Aptly named, indeed.