Movie Nut

Come February, finding a good film can be difficult. Juxtaposed between the holiday blockbusters and the spring hopefuls, more often than not we're left with a potpourri of mediocrity. Now and then a happy little surprise emerges, although the fanatical popcorn junkie may be better off seeing those lingering Christmas remnants for the umpteenth time.

For the romantic comedy buff, here's the good news/bad news scenario for what's current.

Take a hopeful beach bum, a sophisticated blonde, a sugar daddy with a big yacht, add the lure of a sunken treasure and, for me, it doesn't seem like much could go wrong. Alas, in the more-is-probably-better school of filmmaking, director Andy Tennant (who gave us the clever, dialogue-rich "Hitch") seems to think that by adding way too many incoherent subplots, one will perhaps not notice the sunken treasure theme isn't all that deep after all.

In "Fool's Gold," Matthew McConaughey plays the bum, Kate Hudson's the blonde, and Donald Sutherland (who barely opens his mouth in this one- probably a wise decision considering the dialogue) owns a big boat. He's also estranged from his malnourished, space cadet of a daughter- and somewhere along the way, a rap mogul/brutal killer and rival treasure hunters turn up to muddy the crystal blue waters.

The film spends way too much time regaling us with talking-head scenes of "Treasure Hunting for Dummies," lengthy soliloquies of what once happened and why, and then lingers with more aimless chatting about what's going to happen and how.

McConaughey and Hudson, who hit it off okay in 2003's "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days," have left the chemistry far inland here. They play exspouses who supposedly still feel the spark, but Hudson seems truly enthused only when she's belting McConaughey. There's also way too much killing (what's up with that?) for a rousing romantic comedy.

The best thing going on here is that every once in awhile, even amid the chaos, we're exposed to the breathless beauty of the Caribbean. Take out the characters and the mayhem, the plot and the dialogue, and we mighta had a winner.

Take a lovelorn father, Will (Ryan Reynolds), and a concerned yet precocious daughter, Maya (Abigail Breslin), and put them in a room one night without a suitable bedtime story.

Will's just signed divorce papers, and Maya wants to know how it all went wrong. This is a different scenario than, say, Will's best friend wanting to know how it all went wrong- two guys over a dozen beers in a bar, letting it all hang out. Will's the tender, understanding type, and one senses a cathartic, therapeutic edge to Maya's curiosity. Yeah, it's a gimmick, but I went with it.

So Will begins to tell Maya about meeting Mom- although it's not all that simple. Seems there were three women in Dad's past. To explain things appropriately, Will changes the names, so Maya's not sure who's who. Yeah, it's a gimmick, but I went with it. Okay, this part could have been fraught with emotional minefields for young Maya, but director Adam Brooks manages to steer clear of catastrophe.

What results is a trendy, somewhat eccentric love story. Isla Fisher, Rachel Weisz and Elizabeth Banks play the women in Will's past- all apparently nice people, all suitable mom material, and Will's finding true love seems mostly to be a matter of timing. Somebody's in love with somebody else, well-intended signals get crossed- both Maya and I (admittedly) get hooked on wondering just who Mom will be.

Even if you do figure it out before you're supposed to, the film throws a couple of nice curveballs at you along the way, and I'm pretty sure nobody really knows where this one will end up. Although it's a tad strange to see Maya's adultlike interest in her dad's happiness (as the marriage seems destined for failure), one just assumes she'll grow up to become a $300-an-hour therapist and live happily ever after.

It's not your traditional love story, but few films are waving the "traditional" flag these days. Consider "Definitely, Maybe" as a primer for things to come. It's strangely satisfying in that kinetic, it's-the-21st-century way- and considering this is February, one could do a whole lot worse.