Genre: Comedy/Romance
Director: Mark Waters
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Breckin Meyer, Lacey Chabert, Emma Stone, Anne Archer, Robert Forster, Michael Douglas
RunTime: 1 hr 40 mins
Released By: Warner Bros
Rating: PG
Official Website: http://www.ghostsofgirlfriendspastmovie.com/

Opening Day: 11 June 2009

Synopsis:

World-famous fashion photographer Colin Mead (Matthew McConaughey) is the prototypical playboy:  He’s handsome, confident, and successful…especially with the ladies.  He lives life in the fast lane with no emotional connections, no regrets.  He seems to have everything he could ever want – everything but love.  But Colin doesn’t believe in love; he’s spent a lifetime avoiding it.  All that changes when Colin heads home one weekend for his little brother’s wedding where he is confronted with his past…or rather ghosts of his girlfriends past.  A Scrooge-like take on the classic romantic comedy, The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is a clever, charming and uproariously funny trip down memory lane that’s going to turn Colin Mead’s world upside down.

Movie Review:

If there’s one demographic that Hollywood hasn’t showed its love to this summer, it’s the chicks. Over the past few weeks, the fanboys, the action junkies and the families have all had something they can revel in at the cinemas. But what about those who came out in throngs to catch Sex and the City last year?

Well, while Carrie and Mr Big figure out what their next romantic step should be, Hollywood has decided to serve up some perfectly agreeable distraction in the form of Matthew McConaughey. Mr Go-To Guy for romantic comedies, there’s something about his laid-back style and South-western drawl that has captivated more than a few ladies- hence the success of “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” and “Failure to Launch”.

“Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” sees McConaughey reprising the same cocky “player” persona he has perfected over several similar movies. Here he’s the caddish high-fashion Connor Mead, who uses the advantages of his job to get it on with the ladies. It’s the sex he’s after, nothing less and especially nothing more- heck, he conveniently breaks up with three girls at the same time via conference call just so he can quickly get it on with his latest quarry.

But Connor is about to get a rude awakening about the consequences about his sexual catch-and-release when he attends his younger brother Paul’s (Breckin Meyer) wedding. In a gimmicky spin on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Connor is told by the late Uncle Wayne (Michael Douglas) that he will be visited by the ghosts of girlfriends past, present and future. Of course, by the time the last ghost departs, you can guess that Connor will realise the folly of his philandering ways. But the fun lies in the journey he takes to this self-discovery.

As occasionally tender and awkward as revisiting one’s past usually is, Connor’s trip down memory lane is marked by the sweet innocence of first love and the insouciance of youth. It’s a nostalgic journey that you won’t mind taking- more so with some definitive ‘80s tunes like Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time”. And thanks to screenwriters Jon Lucas and Scott Moore (who also wrote last year’s Four Christmases), it’s also a journey filled with witty lines and amusing setups.

Especially hilarious is seeing Michael Douglas teaching his then-young nephew Connor the ropes of his womanizing ways. In what Douglas has said is a performance modelled after the real-life Hollywood playboy producer Robert Evans, he appears in an uproarious getup complete with tinted, oversized glasses and a crop of luxurious, wavy hair. His character Wayne also delivers some of the movie’s best lines- “Women like to be screwed, they don’t like to be screwed over”.

By the time present and future come a-knocking, the movie takes a more sombre tone as Connor meets the implications of his irresponsible ways right up to his own funeral. Thankfully, director Mark Waters of “Mean Girls” and “Freaky Friday” keeps the mood alive by injecting some cheeky dark humour- the kind where Connor finds himself in a shower of shed tears, used tissues and used condoms courtesy of his past.

Though golden-boy McConaughey has now arguably less of his youth, he still has lost none of his allure, whether playing the smarmy lecher or the charming romantic. This is a movie that is almost McConaughey’s one-man show and the actor shows that he has enough panache to pull it off. The same can also be said of Jennifer Garner, who displays some nice comic timing as Jenny, McConaughey’s first and only true love in the movie.

Garner also gives Jenny a surprising amount of depth and warmth, and her chemistry with McConaughey is a delight to watch. Together, they are the heart of this movie, so that more than just delivering the laughs, “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” also manages to impart a few nuggets of wisdom about love, family and relationships. Love isn’t just magic comfort food for the weak and uneducated, as Connor so ignorantly proclaims at the start, and if you need such an affirmation, look no further.

Movie Rating:


(McConaughey, Garner and a hilarious Michael Douglas make sure that this perfectly agreeable rom-com more than delivers the laughs)

Review by Gabriel Chong