Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

Review By: Tom Herrmann
TomHerrmann@TheCinemaSource.com

Movie Grade: C-
DVD Features Grade: F
Overall Grade: D

So here it is, a romantic comedy version of A Christmas Carol. Now, it’s possible for stylistically different adaptation of films can work out in the grand scheme of things. After all, what is Alien but Jaws IN SPACE (if you could imagine the Muppet Show style of saying “in space” there it would really help). Never-the-less, these small alterations to classic films can often be used as a cheap means to pull the wool over the eyes of those who are less astute about the whole situation. This becomes even more frustrating when a film is recycled to the point of cliché: such as A Christmas Carol.

Conner Mead (Matthew McConaughey) is a high class photographer who takes up most of his free time by seducing women in the least respectful ways possible. His playboy life style begins to start alienating him from those around him when he is asked to be the best man at his brother’s wedding. Though Conner has no trouble wooing the bride’s maids, he can’t wrap his hands around his first love Jenny Perotti (Jennifer Garner), who is a member of the wedding party as well. Things get even stranger when Conner sees the ghost of his womanizing uncle Wayne (Michael Douglas). Uncle Wayne, who taught Conner everything he knows about women and love, now tells him that he will be visited by three ghosts who will help him become a better man.

First off, whoever came up with the title for this movie didn’t watch the second half. The first half consists of womanizing, arriving at the party, getting on most people’s bad sides, and then being visited by Allison Vandermeersh, the Ghost of Girlfriends Past (Emma Stone). The title is definitely in favor of this half because it doesn’t mention anything about the other two ghosts. There probably weren’t too many people who missed the connection to A Christmas Carol and inferred the existence of the other two ghosts, but it makes the movie seem lazy: they couldn’t even come up with a proper title.

The function of these ghosts could also be clearer. Melanie, the Ghost of Girlfriends Present (Noureen DeWulf) and Past both do their job well. They take Conner on a trip through the women he is or has been with to show him exactly why he is the way he is, and also the repercussions of his behavior. The Ghost of Girlfriends Future (Olga Maliouk), on the other hand, doesn’t seem to have any idea what she is doing. She shows Jenny, his true love, getting married to another man and then his nearly empty funeral. Why didn’t we see him striking out with women as he got older, or maybe alone and miserable in life rather then death. It is almost as if they didn’t want to have to write a new scene ...