Cinema de Gym: 'Fool's Gold'

Kurt here with another round of Movies and Muscle. Flicks and Flexing. Celluloid and Deltoids. (I'm stopping, I'm stopping.) Today we have Fool's Gold, a frothy, summery dish and the unofficial sequel to How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Released in 2008, this treasure-hunting rom com was to be the Runaway Bride or You've Got Mail for the beloved, if overestimated, duo of Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey, whom, for brevity purposes, we'll refer to herein as Hudsoghey. Sadly, this well-meaning-lark-with-an-asking-for-it-title wound up even less successful than those other films, basically just serving as further proof of the lightning-only-strikes-once rule.

From what I gathered, Hudsoghey play husband-and-wife golddiggers who dive for sunken relics in what is either The Bahamas or an especially tropical-looking part of Florida (I swear I heard “Florida” in there somewhere). When I entered, wife was in the process of divorcing (a characteristically absent) hubbie, complaining about his incessant immaturity, but making a point to repeatedly emphasize his incredible sexual prowess. The visions she inspires seem to be the key fantasy this movie is trying to sell, and since no part of my snippet featured the requisite shirtless McConaughey, her words were doubly effective. (Not that they were ever in short supply, but McConaughey fantasies do seem to abound lately, what with that whole Justin Bartha “McConaughnuts” thing.)

Not part of what I saw

I couldn't pinpoint where I was in terms of the film's running time, but the sense of the divorce's impermanence was practically immediate, with Hudson second-guessing the Hudsoghey split. Enter Ray Winstone, Kevin Hart and President Snow himself, Donald Sutherland, who, if memory serves, play a fellow treasure man, a gangster and a rich tycoon, respectively. All are in search of a precious batch of Spanish artifacts, which Hudson seems to know the most about given her secret scholarly interests. When I stepped off my machine and headed for the door, she looked primed to literally dive back in, if not for love, then for love of ancient baubles.

Hudson as closet bookwormI liked the on-vacation vibrancy of the movie's visuals, which is pretty well-conveyed in that artificial-bronzer poster. I also like that I'm starting to get a beat on my gym's screening trends. They like McConaughey, especially when he's gallivanting around atmospheric locales with pretty ladies whose passions don't quite jive with their bombshell looks. Previously shown was Sahara, which features Penelope Cruz as some sort of a scientist.

But that's another post...

Conclusions?

1. Even if the movie's a dud (and even if her character's implausible), Hudson's pretty reliable when it comes to exuding that sunshine she inherited.
2. Hudsoghey likely won't be having a third go at it.
3. Sunny surroundings can give a major boost to films that are doomed to sink.
4. Fictional supercouples like Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling would probably be wise to learn from the Fool's Golds of the world: best to keep that (note)book closed.

Is there an onscreen flame you'd like to see rekindled?

Links: Arthur Laurents, Joel Edgerton, Parker Posey, Will Smith

TV Guide A brilliant suggestion: put Parker Posey in the boss's chair in The Office. Did you see her on Parks & Recreation last night? She's dependable with hilarity, that one.
The Art of Manliness how to jump from rooftop to rooftop, like a frenzied movie hero.
Boobs Radley Imagined conversations between Scarlett Johansson and Sean Penn. Teehee.
My New Plaid Pants a big week for Joel Edgerton. A leading role in the new Kathryn Bigelow flick? Yes please.
Variety Quentin Tarantino wants Will Smith for his Django Unchained movie. In our opinion any actor would be crazy to turn Tarantino down. He nearly always finds something new or untapped in their talent. He's pure magic that way.
The Beats Within new blog on Madonna as a musician (still underappreciated). This is a really interesting interview with Guy Sigsworth who cowrote "What It Feels Like For a Girl"
Movie Morlocksk spends an evening with Terence Stamp. We love him.

Hey U Guys shows the delightful first image from a pirate movie from Aardman Animations. Hugh Grant will be voicing it matey.
THR It might be Keanu Reeves for Akira. Hollywood is just determined not to cast Japanese actors even though the property is the selling point.
Movie|Line is every Kate Hudson movie the same? Chart!
Salon looks at the best devil portrayals on film.

Finally...I meant to write about Arthur Laurents passing yesterday but this one made me sick with loss. The theater great had a hand in so many properties that are just magic (Rope, West Side Story, The Way We Were, Gypsy ... the list goes on) and he lived to be 92 years old; a long and accomplished life it was. He won Tony Awards and was twice Oscar nominated (both nominations were for the ballet drama The Turning Point) but somehow they snubbed his brilliant screenplay for The Way We Were which is only among the pinnacle achievements of its entire genre. Seriously name ten romantic weepies that are better; you can't!

His life was inspiring, too. Imagine having the guts to live as an out gay man as early as the 1950s. I didn't know where to begin -- I'd need a whole blog week. MUBI is terrific with the obituaries, always rounding up good articles to read, like this recent lengthy dishy profile from New York Magazine when the revival of West Side Story opened on Broadway.