Fool's Gold
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: February 8, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
29
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
9
Negative:
18
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
67
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
Engaging though flimsy, lively though occasionally tone-deaf, it's a movie that thrives on the strength of its affable co-stars and a sense of adventure that provides just enough brio to get audiences through some energy-sapping rough spots. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The movie isn't entirely successful as a romance or as an adventure, which makes the experience of watching it feel shallow and hollow, sort of like the stars and the plot. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Tennant keeps his extravagantly stupid new comedy breezing along affably on the strength of photogenic locales, obscenely beautiful stars, a laid-back soundtrack, and a wholesale unwillingness to take itself the least bit seriously. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneSid Smith
A movie that keeps reminding you of its antecedents, all the way back to 1984 and the comic adventure “Romancing the Stone.” Read full review
50
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
The script is fatally stupid, most of the gags fall flat, the secondary characters add little, Hudson fails to make anything interesting out of the exasperated heroine, and the endless references to McConaughey's sexual prowess finally become revolting. Read full review
50
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
Will Finn and Tess find the treasure before the bad guys? Will they put aside their differences and rekindle their love? Yes to both questions! I haven’t spoiled anything, by the way. But perhaps I’ve saved you some trouble. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Just how long will it be before Matthew McConaughey finally fulfills his destiny by dropping out of Hollywood and opening a chain of nudist colonies? His heart clearly isn't in acting right now, so when it was time to make Fool's Gold, he asked his abs to do the job for him. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
Fool's Gold isn't so much a film as an opportunity to pay homage to Matthew McConaughey's impressive physique. Read full review
42
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
The treasure hunt in Fool's Gold is, of course, meant to be about more than money. But the only reason for this movie to exist is to make money. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterMichael Rechtshaffen
A soggy, listless affair, this would-be fun-in-the-sun sunken-treasure frivolity starts taking on water from the get-go, thanks to drawn-out exposition and languid pacing. Read full review
40
VarietyBrian Lowry
A listless romantic comedy that, almost out of desperation, turns a little more violent than necessary near the end. Read full review
38
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Of COURSE it's bad. It was always going to be. But it's worse than necessary. Read full review
38
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
We already knew Hudson and McConaughey weren't exactly Gable and Lombard from their first romantic pairing in "How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days," but director Andy Tennant's complete lack of inventiveness comes as a surprise. Read full review
38
USA TodayClaudia Puig
The jewels in the buried treasure, once sighted, look fake. But the bigger problem is how artificial the whole story feels. Read full review
38
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
No doubt conceived as an underwater version of "National Treasure," Andy Tennant's film plays like a Three Stooges movie with scuba gear. Read full review
30
Washington PostJohn Anderson
Any more than two writers on a movie usually spells trouble. On the other hand, that two of the three scribes responsible for Fool's Gold have previously specialized in horror makes perfect sense. Read full review
30
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Sorry deep-sea adventure. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesCarina Chocano
It's a big, cheesy, familiar bore. With its garland of set pieces featuring Matthew McConaughey in mortal danger strung together by beach-groovy musical hooks, Fool's Gold feels at times like a third-rate Bond movie set to a Jimmy Buffett album. Read full review
30
Film ThreatPete Vonder Haar
Fool's Gold could easily have been released in 1977, and there's a sort of laid-back, timeless, Gerald Ford feel to the movie: 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. Read full review
30
SalonStephanie Zacharek
Sutherland is the only actor in Fool's Gold who isn't trying too hard, perhaps because he doesn't have to. He's the movie's only treasure, hidden in plain sight. Read full review
25
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Kate Hudson is as blah and dazed as her costar is cloyingly enthused. If it's possible to have too even a tan, Hudson in Fool's Gold would be the poster child for it. Read full review
25
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
Fool's Gold starts flat and then deflates because of torpid pacing and flailing performances. Read full review
25
New York PostLou Lumenick
Excruciatingly lame and laughless romantic comedy. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
A romantic comedy and an adventure story, but in this case that just means it bombs in two distinct ways. Read full review
25
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
A tedious adventure-romance. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleJosh Rosenblatt
Fool’s Gold is the latest romantic comedy from Tennant, who is very possibly the worst director working in Hollywood today. "Fools Rush In." "Ever After." "Sweet Home Alabama." Hitch: I ask you, has anyone done more in the last 10 years to make love seem totally unappetizing? Read full review
20
EmpireSimon Braund
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 locations. Read full review
0
Village VoiceScott Foundas
Fool's Gold is the sort of movie that makes you look more kindly upon the WGA strike. It isn't merely bad--it's so desperate that the actors can scarcely conceal their contempt for the material. Read full review
0
Rolling StonePeter Travers
It's early in the year, but I defy any 2008 comedy to be as stupid, slack and sexless as Fool's Gold. And I'm counting Paris Hilton's appalling "The Hottie and the Nottie," which is marginally better. Read full review
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