Matthew McConaughey has become the new king of the romantic comedy. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Failure to Launch, and Fool’s Gold have been among his films that feature the classic bad-boy-meets-good-girl-stuff-happens-to-drive-them-apart-but-eventually-they-get-together formula. The only differences are McConaughey’s hairstyles and those paired with him. His latest, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, borrows from the classic Dickens’ tale A Christmas Carol and inserts Jennifer Garner as the “good girl.”
Matthew McConaughey plays Connor Mead, a photographer and ladies man. He’s forced to attend his brother’s wedding where he reunites with Jenny (Jennifer Garner), an old girlfriend who didn’t fall for his charms like most women. Connor generally goes from one sexual conquest to the next. But when Connor places the wedding of his younger brother, Paul (Breckin Meyer), and Sandra, (Lacey Chabert), in jeopardy, Connor is stunned when the ghost of his beloved Uncle Wayne (Michael Douglas) visits him with some sobering news. He must end his womanizing ways, even though it was Uncle Wayne who taught Connor everything he knows about loving and leaving women. That means three more ghosts must appear to try to change Connor and possibly lead to a happy reunion with Jenny.
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is basically another version of the famed Dickens’ classic. Translation: It’s twice as predictable. Romantic Comedies are usually predictable enough as they are, but this one goes a step further and rip-offs the three ghosts storyline that results in a miserable human being transformed into a loveable hero after seeing the error of his ways.
It’s hard to believe that the nice lead female character would want to be with a character like this in the end. So there is nothing here that is really romantic, except the forced romance that must occur at the end of the film to set things right. The comedy isn’t all that great either; it’s mostly slapstick that will probably only get a laugh or two out of most viewers. Almost all of it is mean-spirited.
The film is helped by the cast, though. Matthew McConaughey may be playing the same character he’s played countless times before, but but he’s really good at. Jennifer Garner was a great choice for the woman that must conquer the womanizer. Garner and McConaughey do have a decent amount of chemistry together, but they are separate from each other for most of the film. At least not as many as you would think. The actor who really has fun with his role is Michael Douglas. He brings the most comedy to the film in the limited scenes that he appears. Another notable member of the cast is Emma Stone, who plays Connor’s “Girlfriend Past”, a braces-wearing, frizzy-haired teenager to whom Connor lost his virginity back in the 1980s. She has the most energy and lively persona.
But in the end, the writing hurts any enjoyment. The screenwriters pretty much make every woman in this film appear to be either easy or dumb. Why else would they fall for a guy like Connor? Oh yeah, because he is handsome bad boy that changes his ways, even though it’s hard to believe that he really has changed in the end. Those underlying messages could alienate some of the target demographic for this film, which is women of course. Then again, they probably will forget all about that when they look into McConaughey’s dreamy eyes. Sadly for them, McConaughey doesn’t remove his shirt. Those that care about wanting to see something more than just Matthew McConaughey will be disappointed as there nothing new to see in Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.
The video included is available in both widescreen color presented at the 2.35:1 aspect ratio, which is enhanced for 16:9 TVs, and fullscreen color presented at the 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The quality is great throughout.
The audio included is available in either English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound. There are subtitles available in English and Spanish as well.
There are no extras for the standard definition DVD, unless you count the ability to watch this film in both fullscreen and widescreen as an extra. The Blu-ray DVD does have 3 featurettes and some deleted scenes, though.
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is just like every other average romantic comedy these days meaning that is not that funny. It’s barely romantic, but the cast looks like they are having fun. So it’s a curious rental at best.
Warner Home Video presents Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. Directed by Mark Waters. Starring Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Brecken Meyer, Michael Douglas, Anne Archer, Lacey Chabert, Emma Stone, and Robert Forster. Written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. Running time: 100 minutes. Rated PG-13. Released on DVD: September 22, 2009. Available at Amazon.com
