Movie Review: Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
May 31, 2009
Michael Douglas steals the spotlight in this entertaining but predictable movie, which you can easily wait for to come to a DVD. The story is ages old and the film is full of cliches, so don't be surprised if you feel a deja-vu moment here and there. Matthew McConaughey is Connor Mead, who loses his parents at an early age and only has his younger brother Paul (Breckin Meyer), a girl-friend, Jenny Perotti (Jennifer Garner) and an uncle (Douglas) left. His interest in Jenny is real but due to some unfortunate circumstances they are never able to date until years later when Connor is quite a different person. They meet yet again when Connor, now a self-proclaimed bachelor and a playboy goes back home to attend his brother's wedding. His negative attitude makes everyone uneasy until Connor has a visit from his now passed uncle, who promises a visit from three more ghosts to help him see things in a different light. As you would expect, this makes him a truely different person and he goes from playboy to saint in a flash of a moment. Does this sound sarcastic? Yes, because it's completely unbelievable.
The chemistry between Garner and McConaughey is good and the acting is fine. It's the story that is so ordinary and clumsily patched together. I think both of these actors are very capable of being great and I feel bad for McConaughey's choice of material because he can do better. As a bachelor and a womanizer, he is very believable. His Connor Mead is a famous photographer who is also famous for his way with women, a good example being breaking up with three of them in one conference call. He goes through life photographing celebrities and dating beautiful women. It seems to be a race to nowhere until he goes to the wedding and has some sort of "ghost intervention". His uncle-ghost tells him that this lifestyle, while glamorous at first glance, is not fulfilling and Connor will understand his mistakes once he goes back in the past to see what he did wrong.
The ghosts are former girlfriends. They are all very much alive, which is quite confusing, since the uncle is dead, and "ghost" typically implies a dead person. But let's skip that. Each of the ghosts takes Connor back into the past to see how he treated the women in his life wrong and to help him understand that Jenny has always been his true love. Amazingly, they succeed, and after a parade of the 70s and 80s parties, things turn out well for everybody. Connor is back to his old human self and instead of trying to derail the wedding, he now helps make it happen, and, naturally, photographing the event. Jenny takes him back and his brother Paul is happily married. It's a happy ending for everyone, including Paul's fiancee, Sandra (Lacey Chabert of "Party of Five"). Battling her own bridesmaid's betrayal, she finds it in herself to be forgiving. Forgiveness is exactly what Connor is looking for from Jenny.
"Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" is entertaining, light and funny, but it is also very predictable and unoriginal. You would enjoy watching it on DVD, but don't spend your money in the theater.
