by A. Marshall

Created on: July 14, 2009

Matthew McConaughey has usually been quite attractive and funny in chick-flicks such as How to Lose A Guy In Ten Days and Fools Gold, so it seemed as if Ghosts of Girlfriends Past would be on a similar light but entertaining level. But this film is on a different level altogether.

Top magazine photographer Connor (Matthew McConaughey) arrives at a hotel for the wedding of his brother Paul (Breckin Meyer) and finds one of the bridesmaids is Jenny (Jennifer Garner) an ex he hasn't seen for several years. It's clear there is an atmosphere of bitterness between them. Connor has a habit of dumping women when they fall in love with him, and Jenny is just another in a long line. He has slept with all the bridesmaids except one, something he plans to remedy.

At the pre-wedding dinner Connor drinks too much and gives a cynical speech about marriage and Jenny is clearly disgusted at his attitude. His behavior begins to start causing an unpleasant atmosphere. However, later that night, he is visited by the ghost of his dead Uncle Wayne (Michael Douglas), the man who introduced him into his bad boy ways. Uncle Wayne has some lessons to teach him and warns him he will be visited by a ghost.

Connor isn't sure whether he's seeing things, but sure enough Allison (Emma Stone) the ghost of a teenage girl from his past appears. She takes him on a series of visits to his past, present and future, to see the consequences of his womanising ways. But can she change his attitude in time to stop him ruining the wedding altogether?

It seems like a good scenario for a rom-com, borrowing closely from A Christmas Carol. Connor is clearly the Scrooge character, ripping down wedding decorations, and spoiling the party atmosphere. But somehow it just fails to be funny. The way he treats women is abysmal and it makes him a deeply unpleasant character that's hard to engage with. McConaughey plays it with his usual roguishness, but the charm that makes him endearing in these roles is mostly missing. Mostly he just looks sleazy, especially in one of his past incarnations with long lank hair. It's hard to imagine why Jenny would have had any feelings for him at all, or why his brother Paul would be so tolerant of his behaviour.

Breckin Meyer is a good choice for the role of Paul, as he looks as if he really could be McConaughey's brother. He comes across as a nice guy who doesn't deserve all the awful things happening to him.

Jennifer Garner plays the part of a feisty character, long since over Connor, although clearly she still has a soft spot for him. There's not much chemistry between them though. The characters are just too cynical, so maybe they didn't really enjoy the roles they were playing.

The one person who really seemed to get into role was Michael Douglas as the womanizing Uncle Wayne. Having been a sex addict in real life, he's really well cast, and was totally convincing.

Emma Stone as Allison is totally wacky, as a teenage ghost from the eighties, complete with permed hair and braces. She's actually the funniest character in the film.

Really this is a pretty unpleasant film in a lot of ways that just make it uncomfortable viewing. Women are objectified and made to look gullible and brainless, all too willing to fall in love with somebody as shallow as Connor. It didn't really need to go so far with making Connor such an unpleasant guy. It makes it hard to care one way or another what happens to him or to believe that Jenny has any feelings for him. For a rom-com there just aren't that many things to laugh about in this film.

Director: Mark Waters (Freaky Friday, Mean Girls)

Running Time: 101 minutes

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