Raising Helen (2004)

Director: Garry Marshall
Writer: Story: Patrick J. Clifton, Beth Rigazio Screenplay: Jack Amiel, Michael Begler
Cast: Kate Hudson, Hayden Panettiere, Abigail Breslin, Spencer Breslin, Joan Cusack, John Corbett, Helen Mirren, Felicity Huffman
Genre: Drama, Rom-Com

Raising Helen tells the story of Helen Davis (Hudson), a single twenty-something party girl working at a model agency, who suddenly lose one of her two sisters to a car accident. According to their will, her dead sister and husband are leaving Helen in charge of their three children despite the third sister Jenny being the more adult and obvious choice.

The premise leaves it all wide open to the audience, and without managing to make us grow more fond of any of the main characters, Raising Helen becomes a forgettable and as predicted story it feels like we've seen several times before.

Hudson is charming enough, but lacks charisma to really embrace the part and make us care. Panettiere and Abigail Breslin really haven't got enough depth in their parts to do a lot, but it's nice to watch both in a movie from their pre-fame.

Fool's Gold (2008)

Director: Andy Tennant
Writer: Story: John Claflin, Daniel Zelman Screenplay: John Claflin, Daniel Zelman, Andy Tennant
Cast: Kate Hudson, Matthew McConaughey, Donald Sutherland, Alexis Dziena
Genre: Adventure, Rom-Com, Fantasy

I like the genre, but Fool's Gold was boring. All the searching for lost treasure at sea-angle is so much worse than than even Into the Blue, and the romance-angle is killed by McConaughey's lack of credibility and acting ability. If I ever see another movie with him, I'm perfectly happy about it. Dazed and Confused was one of his first roles, and he's never been close to deliver like that since. Kate Hudson is no Jessica Alba, to keep the comparison towards Into the Blue alive, but Hudson got charisma on her own. Sadly there's no sparks with her leading partner, and then this movie are coming close to running on fumes.

Sutherland's part is more a grandfather figure than anything else, and Dziena keeps delivering bimbo-parts with quite the conviction. Their father-daughter issues doesn't elevate the movie, but at least it helps cutting into McConaughey's time on the screen. At least that's positive.