Fool's Gold

"This February true love takes a dive."

2008 1h 52m EN

😐

5.8

MID

🥫

11%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

5.7

IMDB

★5.8TMDB · 1,657🥫11%Rotten Tomatoes●29Metacritic★5.7IMDB · 87,621

AdventureRomanceComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Treasure hunter Ben "Finn" Finnegan has sunk his marriage to Tess and his trusty boat in his obsessive quest to find the legendary Queen's Dowry. When he finds a vital clue that may finally pinpoint the treasure's whereabouts, he drags Tess and her boss, billionaire Nigel Honeycutt, along on the hunt. But Finn is not the only one interested in the gold; his former mentor-turned-enemy Moe Fitch, hired by rapper-turned-gangster Bigg Bunny, will stop at nothing to beat him to it.

“This February true love takes a dive.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Matthew McConaughey
Ben 'Finn' Finnegan
Kate Hudson
Tess Finnegan
Donald Sutherland
Nigel Honeycutt
Alexis Dziena
Gemma Honeycutt
Ewen Bremner
Alfonz
Ray Winstone
Moe Fitch
Kevin Hart
Bigg Bunny
Malcolm-Jamal Warner
Cordell

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Andy Tennant
Writers: Andy Tennant, John Claflin, Daniel Zelman
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $70M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 18 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CAST

Did you know

226+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Andy Tennant, shot by Don Burgess. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by George Fenton. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Troy Takaki shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson and Donald Sutherland carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "This February true love takes a dive.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Andy Tennant directs. Don Burgess behind the camera. George Fenton scores. Troy Takaki cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $70M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Released 18 years ago.
3226+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
4Directed by Andy Tennant, shot by Don Burgess. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by George Fenton. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Troy Takaki shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson and Donald Sutherland carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "This February true love takes a dive.".
9IMDB entry: tt0770752 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 37 themes, including "helicopter", "gambling debt", "gangster", "obsession".

The technical file

Cinematography: Don Burgess
Original score: George Fenton
Editing: Troy Takaki
Production design: Charles Wood
Makeup / hair: Paige Badenoch
Sound: Doug Hemphill
Stunt coordinator: R.A. Rondell
Runtime: 112 min · 1h 52m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $70,000,000
Box office: $111,231,041
Return: 159% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Fool's Gold (2008)
Rotten Tomatoes: 11% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 29/100
IMDB rating: 5.7/10 · 87,621 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

5 nominations total

Also by

Andy Tennant

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2019-02-19
★ 6/10
Fun island thriller, but a little too long Released in 2008, "Fool's Gold" stars Matthew McConaughey & Kate Hudson as a couple on the verge of divorce in the Bahamas, the former a treasure-seeker. Donald Sutherland plays Hudson's new rich boss and Alexis Dziena his bimbo-ish daughter. Ray Winstone and Kevin Hart also factor in as potential villains. If you can imagine serious island-thrillers like "The Deep" and the two "Into the Blue" flicks mixed with a heavy dose of comedy and cartoonish action you'd have a good idea of "Fool's Gold." It's basically "The Goonies" as adults in the Bahamas. Kate and McConaughey look great and are great together, and everyone else is likable, even the villains (sort of). The problem is the movie is too long at 1 hour, 52 minutes. A silly, fun film like should limit the runtime to around 85-100 minutes. The story takes place in (or near) the Bahamas, but the film was shot on the east coast of Queensland, and you can tell. The coast of Queensland is gorgeous but it lacks the lushness of the Caribbean. Regardless, the film is worth watching just for the locations, especially on a cloudy fall day or a cold winter night. So this is a fun island flick with romance, treasure-hunting and adventure, but it’s a little too long for such goofy antics. For the real deal in oceanic thrillers check out 2009's "Into the Blue 2: The Reef," which IMHO is way better than the original "Into the Blue" from 2005. GRADE: B-/C+
GenerationofSwine2023-01-14
★ 10/10
It is far from a bad film...unless you are the kind of person that just can't stand a fun, pulp adventure story. Basically all this movie is is a pulp novel turned into a movie. Had it been made in the Golden Age of Hollywood right up to the 1980s it would have been a hit. Had it been made in the 1990s it would have been a modest success... But it was made in 2008 and the tastes of the world had changed. 9-11 had come and gone and people lost that childlike innocence that is needed to enjoy films like this. The Computer Age dawned and everyone wanted nothing but over-the-top special effects. So fun adventures were shoved to the side and the critics--that still claim to love fun adventures like Captain Blood--turned their noses up at anyone that even hinted towards enjoying them. What you have is a treasure standing in for the MacGuffin, a roguish hero, a little bit of a love triangle, and the open seas. It is classic Hollywood. It is also, unfortunately, they kind of movie we need today and the kind that Hollywood is most reluctant to make.