GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST

Director: Mark Waters
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner and Michael Douglas
Release Date: 2009-08-21 08:00:00
Quick Take: Corny but warm


Borrowing from the premise of the classic film, A Christmas Carol, Ghosts… is a rom-com about Casanova photographer Connor Mead (McConaughey) who’s afraid of falling in love so he sleeps around with hundreds of women and as soon as there’s a hint of ‘love’ he dumps them. Jenny (Garner) is his childhood sweetheart who, of course, is the one he should ultimately end up with and to facilitate their union the ghost of his playboy uncle (Douglas) appears and tells him three other ghosts will show him his past, present and future so that he can redeem his life and settle down.

As far as rom-coms go this one is standard fare. Some of the slapstick does get a bit scary and you’ll find your heart strings tugged more than your funny bone being tickled. Mead’s vulgar charm with the ladies is a tad repulsive as is their total submission to his innuendo-laced come-ons. You never really can look at McConaughey and see a nice guy so even his turn from male slut to Mother Teresa at the end is a bit far-fetched. However, the emotion that director Mark Waters has managed to salvage from a basically flat plot along with some nostalgic music and Douglas’s male chauvinist pig caricature give life to the film.