← Back to Reviews
in
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Before winning an Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club, Matthew McConaughey was methodically destroying his career with films like 2009's Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, a clever idea that gets lost in a cliche-ridden screenplay and some really unappealing characters.
In this contemporary re-thinking of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, McConaughey plays Connor Mead, a womanizing fashion photographer who travels to his brother's wedding hoping he can stop him from making a terrible mistake. After the rehearsal, Connor is visited by three ghosts who are going to show him the error of his ways, which include the possibility of a second chance with the girl who got away (Jennifer Garner) who just happens to be the maid of honor.
With the dozens of versions of Dickens' original story out there, a genuine re-thinking of the story was a good idea, but the screenplay by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, who wrote The Hangover is just a little too antiseptic and full of cloyingly sweet sentiment that I felt like I needed an insulin shot at the end of the movie. The ghost of Connor's Uncle Wayne (Michael Douglas) talks like he's in a Damon Runyan story rather than Dickens and Connor and his brother actually describe their relationship as "you and me against the world"...seriously?
The screenplay becomes more problematic because the characters presented here are just not very likable. Of course, Connor is a jerk, but he's not the only one. Garner's Jenny is an icy bitch who is full of herself and the reveal of why she and Connor broke up did not add to her appeal and the bride to be (Lacy Chabert) is a hysterical shrew who needs to up her meds. Emma Stone plays the first ghost that visits Connor, who is revealed to be the first girl Conner ever had sex with and I have never found Stone more annoying onscreen. The only likable character in the movie is Connor's brother, charmingly played by Breckin Meyer, but his screentime is sadly limited.
Mark Waters, who directed 500 Days of Summer, does employ some fantasy touches in his vision of the story but most of them come off as kind of contrived and silly. This is definitely another one of those really good ideas on paper that lost something in its translation to the big screen.
Before winning an Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club, Matthew McConaughey was methodically destroying his career with films like 2009's Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, a clever idea that gets lost in a cliche-ridden screenplay and some really unappealing characters.
In this contemporary re-thinking of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, McConaughey plays Connor Mead, a womanizing fashion photographer who travels to his brother's wedding hoping he can stop him from making a terrible mistake. After the rehearsal, Connor is visited by three ghosts who are going to show him the error of his ways, which include the possibility of a second chance with the girl who got away (Jennifer Garner) who just happens to be the maid of honor.
With the dozens of versions of Dickens' original story out there, a genuine re-thinking of the story was a good idea, but the screenplay by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, who wrote The Hangover is just a little too antiseptic and full of cloyingly sweet sentiment that I felt like I needed an insulin shot at the end of the movie. The ghost of Connor's Uncle Wayne (Michael Douglas) talks like he's in a Damon Runyan story rather than Dickens and Connor and his brother actually describe their relationship as "you and me against the world"...seriously?
The screenplay becomes more problematic because the characters presented here are just not very likable. Of course, Connor is a jerk, but he's not the only one. Garner's Jenny is an icy bitch who is full of herself and the reveal of why she and Connor broke up did not add to her appeal and the bride to be (Lacy Chabert) is a hysterical shrew who needs to up her meds. Emma Stone plays the first ghost that visits Connor, who is revealed to be the first girl Conner ever had sex with and I have never found Stone more annoying onscreen. The only likable character in the movie is Connor's brother, charmingly played by Breckin Meyer, but his screentime is sadly limited.
Mark Waters, who directed 500 Days of Summer, does employ some fantasy touches in his vision of the story but most of them come off as kind of contrived and silly. This is definitely another one of those really good ideas on paper that lost something in its translation to the big screen.