Andy Tennant (“Hitch,” “Sweet Home Alabama”) directs this likeably lite “romantic action comedy,” as one of his producers slots it, about two tanned treasure-hunters who spent their honeymoon humping in a Spanish archive. But that’s before the tale starts. The best storytelling occurs in the scene where Finnegan (Matthew McConaughey) and Tess (Kate Hudson) tell Nigel Honeycutt (Donald Sutherland) the backstory to the July 24, 1715 sinking of a ship laden with a $500 million treasure. The conversion rate to 2008 currency is calculated off-camera. Nigel—worth $700 million—lends his 140-foot yacht Precious Gem to search for the forty chests of plunder after Finnegan accidentally sinks a vessel called Booty Calls. The writing by Tennant, John Claflin and Daniel Zelman is less than zinging: there’s awkward dialogue about Nigel’s bimbo daughter Gemma (Alexis Dziena), snapless patter between gay chefs below decks and Tess’ innuendo about Finnegan’s erotic dexterity. When one character calls another the “Ukrainian sidekick,” he (Ewen Bremner) counters: “I’m the lead character in my own story.” A tad more memorable is this line from murderous rapper Bigg Bunny (Kevin Hart), who’s after the mega-gold: “I’m going to submit your theory to academic review while I sit my balls on some ice.” That too occurs off-camera. 112m. Anamorphic 2.40 widescreen. (Bill Stamets)
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