BACK COVER SYNOPSIS: Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson go for the gold (and the diamonds, emeralds and rubies) as a just-divorced couple who bicker and banter their way through an adventure and laugh-packed undersea treasure hunt. McConaughey is Finn, in love with his ex (Hudson) and in deep with gangster Bigg Bunny. After eight years of searching, Finn gets a clue to the whereabouts of the Queen's Dowry, a fabulous fortune that mysteriously disappeared in the Caribbean in 1715. Now all he has to do is get the gold, get the girl and get going before Bigg Bunny gets him. Directed by Andy Tennant (Hitch), Fool's Gold glitters with danger, action, romance, comedy, great one-liners - and a great time to be had by all!

FILM REVIEW: An odd things occurred to me when I was watching "Fool's Gold" and it happened about a third of the way through watching it. The film had all the components to make for solid, fun entertainment, but none of the components ever came together in order for the film to become more than the sum of its parts (as most films do). It has the right elements, but poor execution, resulting in a film that doesn't suspend your disbelief and makes every attempt to throw you out of it. It's a shame because the chemistry between the leads Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson are obvious, but the direction on display does an excellent job of almost killing that chemistry. Aside from that, we have an adventure treasure hunt that has no sense of adventure. We have dumb characters played by actors who can play better than this. There's some pretty pictures but all in all, "Fool's Gold" is just a complete waste of time.

The film starts out with Matthew McConaughey's character of Finn digging for treasure underwater in the Caribbean. He uncovers an ancient plate which may hold the key to treasure, but in the film's first stupid moment, the boat burns and sinks thanks to his absent-mindedness (I won't tell you how but there's an almost Forrest Gump floating feather riff that causes it). We're then introduced to rap gangster Bing Bunny (which by the way, could have been an hilarious take on black gangsters but it's not) who tries to have Finn killed for blowing up the boat and his investment in it. True to form, Finn escapes, but now has the state of mind to remember he has to be at divorce proceedings with his wife Tess (Kate Hudson). He gets there a minute too late and they are unceremoniously divorced. Tess goes back to work for rich billionaire Nigel Honeycutt (a wasted Donald Sutherland with a not-so-good English accent) while Finn tries to convince her to go hunting for the Queen's Dowry, a hidden treasure they've been searching for eight years. Tess tells him to go jump, and in a couple of twists later, Finn manages to introduce himself to Honeycutt by saving his daughter's hat from the ocean depths (that's right, her hat - it's one of the most ridiculous scenes in the film). From there, Finn convinces Honeycutt to go on the treasure hunt, much to Tess' disdain, and the rest of the film follows their treasure hunt with Bigg Bunny on their tale.

The film is let down by not only its script but its direction. The story for the film is very promising; after all, there's the hint that we'd get a nice blend between a romantic comedy and an adventure-treasure hunt. It falls down in making its main characters buffoons. They all do something very stupid at least once, but in an odd-ball spoof kind of way which is not what this film is, leaving entire sequences that feel completely out of place (take Finn's rescue of the hat - see, I've mentioned it twice!). The direction is also on the poor side; there isn't any discernable vision, or even an attempt to make the film flow naturally. As a result, it has a staged feeling that never comes alive, which is essential for any film to do if we are to suspend our disbelief. The actors look as if they're acting, never feeling comfortable with what they're doing. This is a let down, after all, this film is coming from the director of "Hitch" and that film was actually pretty good with some decent acting. Maybe he just directed this film on auto-pilot? Who knows.

I don't know what happened to Matthew McConaughey. Maybe he likes playing the supposedly loveable idiot because that's all he seems to do now, but there was a time when he actually had some decent credits to his name, like when he starred along side Jodie Foster in "Contact". Doing roles like this is embarassing and a big shame because he is capable of better. Kate Hudson fares well as the more intellectual Tess, but again, her talents are wasted in this film because the script gets her to behave in a similar fashion to McConaughey's character. The two biggest travesties however are why in the world Donald Sutherland chose to be in this movie, and what were they thinking when they wrote his daughter's character? Sutherland is a superb actor but here he's reduced to a phoney British accent and looks lost half the time. His character's daughter Gemma (played by Alexis Dziena) is truly terrible. I can understand how they may have wanted a ditzy and dumb glamour girl, but the delivery is so stupid and insulting that there are no endearing qualities on display, aside from laughing at her whenever she shows up. The character of Bing Bunny (Kevin Hart) isn't particularly effective, and the gangster rap attitude is never funny although you can imagine if done properly it could have been.

One positive in this film is the visuals. The production was shot mostly in Australia and the glorious reefs and beaches that are on display are magnificent. The images have a clarity and colour to them that are glorious to watch and they are really the only element in the film that works in giving you a sense of hunting for treasure at sea.

"Fool's Gold" is a wasted idea, with lackluster performances, bad scripting and incoherent direction; put simply, it's a waste of time.

TECHNICAL REVIEW: The video transfer is spot on. The vivid images are faithfully represented on this DVD in their sharpness, clarity and colour. The soundtrack is likewise on the money, with some great use of the surrounds, particularly with the gun shots, explosions and outdoor sound effects. This is an excellent transfer.

EXTRAS REVIEW: There are only two extra features on this disc, and together they run a grand total of five minutes. Wow. Not that I really cared because the film wasn't great, but the very promotional "Flirting with Adventure" featurette is nothing special, giving us the usual 'we all loved working with each other' dialogue, and how great the film will be. There's also a gag reel which is mildy amusing but forgettable. Subtitles included are only English and English for the Hearing Impaired. This collection of extras is a non-event.

BOTTOM LINE: Rent it, and only if there's nothing better to choose.