Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Photo credit: New Line Cinema
Technically speaking, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past should be a fantastic romantic comedy. Director Mark Waters gave us Mean Girls and produced the fantastic upcoming July film (500) Days of Summer (which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival). Writers Jon Lucas and Scott Moore wrote this summer’s next man-date flick, The Hangover – which has already been green-lit for a sequel before it’s theatrical release. But you can’t always expect great things from great people.
In Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Matthew McConaughey plays lead character Connor Mead, a womanizing self-absorbed professional photographer. After Connor tries to pick up on his now-perfect childhood girlfriend Jenny Perotti (Jennifer Garner) at his brother’s wedding rehearsal, he’s visited by the ghost of his “dirty old man” uncle (Michael Douglas) who informs him that his night will be filled with three visits by ghost of previous girlfriends, showing his current shallow love life, the botched prior relationship with Jenny, and the eminent future created by the decision made in the past and present.
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is just like every other typical romantic comedy: you know the outcome of the movie from the minute it starts. It’s lacks originality and simply melds formulaic romantic cheese with Scrooge’s Christmas story. Ghosts of Girlfriends past feels like a bad ad-lib romantic comedy script filled out by a perverted 14-year-old boy and a naïve 18-year-old girl. There’s the dirty uncle, the crazy father-in-law, the cougar mother-in-law, horny bridesmaids, bridezilla and the perfect guy threatening to steal the girl.
I don’t mind a romantic comedy as long as there’s a connection between the audience and the characters – like in Ghost Town. But much like last year’s Made of Honor, you have a hard time sympathizing with any of them. Connor is so much of a slimeball that at no point do you ever feel bad for him. You don’t even feel bad for the decent people he screws over. He’s such a disgusting person that you don’t want Jenny to take him back. And it makes no sense as to why Jenny would ever be with him in the first place.
If you enjoy romantic comedies like Made of Honor, then you’ll Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. If you despise them, then stay away. Your money is better spent elsewhere.
