Fool's Gold (2008 film)

Warner Brothers Entertainment, Inc., was sued in 2011 by Canadian novelist Lou Boudreau, in Canadian court, alleging copyright infringement by Tennant and two other men over the authorship of the script.[5] Warner Brothers did not comment on the matter.[5]

Fool's Gold was released on February 8, 2008, in the North America and grossed $21.5 million in 3,125 theaters its opening weekend, ranking #1 at the box office.[6] The film grossed over $110.5 million worldwide — $70.2 million in the North America and $40.3 million in other territories.[2]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 11% of 147 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.6/10. The website's consensus reads: "With little chemistry among the performers, humorless gags, and a predictable storyline, Fool's Gold fails on every level."[7] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 29 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[8] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.[9]

Several critics compared the film unfavorably to National Treasure[10][11][12][13] and Romancing the Stone.[11][13][14] Some critics referred to the film as "tedious"[11][15][16] and "listless."[15][16][17] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film zero stars out of four and said "Paris Hilton's appalling The Hottie and the Nottie is "marginally better." Travers wrote "I defy any 2008 comedy to be as stupid, slack and sexless" as Fool's Gold.[10] Lou Lumenick of the New York Post gave the film one star out of four and called it "excruciatingly lame". Lumenick said, "It's all basically an excuse to show off the scenery", including McConaughey's abs.[15] Carrie Rickey of The Philadelphia Inquirer gave the film one and a half stars out of four and said it "plays like a Three Stooges movie with scuba gear", but that "a Three Stooges movie is enlightened next to this one." Rickey described McConaughey as "perennially shirtless" and Hudson as "peculiarly mirthless".[12]

Pete Vonder Haar of Film Threat gave the film one and a half stars and said "the resolution is never in doubt, the villains are comedic rather than menacing, and no one involved seems to care one way or the other that their names are attached to this indifferent mess." Vonder Haar said McConaughey plays Finn "as Sahara's Dirk Pitt minus the SEAL training and a few million brain cells." and asked "Does McConaughey have some codicil in his contract stipulating he must spend at least 51% of a movie shirtless?"[18] Sid Smith of the Chicago Tribune gave it two stars out of four and said the characters "are comic book clichés". Smith said "the outcome is predictable" and "The wasted talents include Sutherland, affecting a hokey British accent, and hatchet-faced Ewen Bremner."[13] Brian Lowry of Variety said, "The lure of Matthew McConaughey shirtless for extended stretches doubtless has some marketing value, but after that, Fool's Gold offers small compensation." Lowry wrote "At times the pic feels like a comedic version of The Deep, only without the comedy." Lowry said the tropic scenery was well-shot but said "there's not much chemistry" between McConaughey and Hudson.[17]

Carina Chocano of the Los Angeles Times called it a "cheesy, familiar bore" and said it "feels at times like a third-rate Bond movie set to a Jimmy Buffett album." Chocano said "Hudson is the best thing about the movie. She has a likable, grounded presence and sharp comic timing."[14] Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club gave the film a "C+" and called it "the kind of thing people watch because it's the in-flight movie". Rabin called the repeated mentions of Finn's sexual prowess "a delightfully unnecessary move". Rabin said the film "outstays its welcome by a good 20 minutes" and called it "extravagantly stupid", but that the film's strengths were the "photogenic locales, obscenely beautiful stars, a laid-back soundtrack" and an unwillingness to take itself seriously.[19] Lou Lumenick said the ending was "surprisingly bloody"[15] and Brian Lowry said the ending is "a little more violent than necessary" and "a bit grittier than it should be tonally, as if we've detoured into a different movie."[17] Simon Braund of Empire magazine gave the film one star out of five and called it "Absolute tosh. A ridiculous, unerringly tedious plot is weighed down by listless performances from a cast who clearly wished they were somewhere else, despite the sumptuous location."[16]

The film earned a Razzie Award nomination for Kate Hudson as Worst Actress (also for My Best Friend's Girl).[20]

Fool's Gold was released on DVD and Blu-ray discs on June 17, 2008.[21] About 1,225,904 DVD units have been sold, acquiring revenue of $20,502,574. This does not include Blu-ray sales. It was presented in anamorphic widescreen with an English-language 5.1 digital surround soundtrack. The extras for the DVD include Flirting with Adventure McConaughey-Hudson chemistry featurette, and a gag reel. Fool's Gold was released on R4 Australian DVD on June 5, 2008.