Dir. Andy Tennant, US, 2008, 112 mins, with subtitles if appropriate
Cast: Kate Hudson, Matthew McConaughey, Donald Sutherland
Review by Carol Allen
McConaughey plays modern day treasure hunter Finn, obsessed with finding a legendary 18th century treasure lost in the Caribbean in 1715. Hudson is his estranged wife and fellow treasure hunter Tess, who is about to divorce him. The intention here would appear to be to make a romantic comedy advenutre in a glamorous and beautiful setting. The setting works fine - lots of chances to show off brilliant blue skies and seas and pretty girls in bikinis. The rest of it doesn't.. After an impressive opening sequence in which Finn accidentally destroys his own boat, it's downhill all the way. The two stars fail to create any chemistry or ignite any sparks. After a while their bickering just becomes irritating and what little "will they, won't they get back together?" suspense there is disappears pretty quickly in favour of the not very enthralling "Boy's Own Adventure" type treasure hunt. Most of the jokes fall flat and quivering to the decks of the various boats involved and the film also features one of the longest and most boring explanations of back story seen for a long time in a scene, where Finn and Tess fill in the tale of the lost treasure, in what amounts to a long and unillustrated lecture.
Also in the cast is Sutherland as a billionaire called Nigel, on whose luxury yacht Tess is working and who is persuaded to bankroll the treasure hunters. Inexplicably he plays his role with a not very convincing English accent, despite his very American daughter Gemma (Alexis Dziena) and looks embarrassed most of the time, as well he might. Even more embarrassing is Ray Winstone in what is mercifully a pretty small part as Finn's former business partner and rival treasure hunter, for which he is asked to employ a dodgy Deep South accent laced with a bit of Australian (which may well be his native Hackney bursting through).
Apart from the pretty Caribbean background, the only bright sparks in the cast are Dziena as Nigel's airhead daughter, who raises the odd smile and the somewhat charismatic Kevin Hart as local gangster Big Bunny, so named because of the pet rabbit he nurses on his lap, being a rip off of Dr Evil's cat in the Austin Powers movies or the James Bond one that they satirise. We do not see anything like enough of the rabbit, who is the most cuddly and amusing character in the whole line up.
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