No, Ghosts of Girlfriend’s Past is not a masterpiece and to think it is anything more than a clichéd romantic comedy with a silly premise is ridiculous. It is what it is and it isn’t trying to be anything more. Matthew McConaughey has become a punch line for his shirtless performances, but as folks make fun of him he is laughing his way to the bank as there is obviously an audience for his films and let’s face it, he isn’t half-bad considering what we are talking about.
In his latest outing his conquest is deemed to be Jennifer Garner as Matt plays Connor Mead, a playboy professional photographer who is best known for lovin’ ’em and leavin’ ’em — Garner’s character obviously being one of those ladies that has been “left.” To kick start the story his brother (Breckin Meyer) has asked his philophobic brother to be the best man at his wedding, a societal ritual Connor is obviously against. Once in attendance he begins to express his dissatisfaction with matrimony to the point you wouldn’t even invite this guy to pick up your garbage.
To teach him a lesson, the ghost of his lady-bedding mentor, Uncle Wayne (Michael Douglas), shows up to tell him he will be visited by three ghosts, which will in turn teach him the error of his ways leading everyone to live happily ever after. What else did you expect?
McConaughey is his usual charming self, all smiles and accompanied by his perfect hair and Texas accent. Jennifer Garner adds very little to the film and is slowly proving she adds very little to any film making me think initially type-casting her as the new female action star is something she should have stuck with. As for the rest of the cast, the most startling element is just how small Breckin Meyer and Lacey Chabert are as a couple compared to everyone else in the cast. Seriously, these two look like garden gnomes when standing next to McConaughey and Garner and, suffice to say, it is a bit distracting.
As director, Mark Waters proves he can manage these fluff pieces after turning both Freaky Friday and Mean Girls into successes. He may have stumbled with Just Like Heaven, but this one should end up a winner for New Line as he directs this film consciously aware of its stupidity, and even at one point a character foreshadows the coming of a montage accompanied by Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time,” which certainly allows for a larger appreciation.
While Ghosts of Girlfriend’s Past fails in any attempt to be anything more than a cliché Christmas Carol inspired romantic comedy, it succeeds in achieving a consistent amount of laughs at the expense of its misogynistic lead. Any hope for an improved state of romantic comedies will not be aided using this film as an example, but it is sure to satisfy the crowd it was made for and should manage to amuse the gentlemen they bring with them.
