Questions? Concerns? Contact the writer at Smoking/Drinking/Drugs: Women do shots at a bar toasts at a rehearsal dinner and wedding Connor drinks repeatedly a man speaks fondly of a party with 17 stewardesses and illegal drugs Connor's uncle takes him to a bar and buys him a drink when Connor is well under age. Its frank discussion of sexual experiences goes too far at times-the movie is inappropriate for younger viewers-but Connor's moral awakening is admirable.Īnd McConaughey doesn't appear shirtless until the film is nearing its conclusion. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past doesn't reinvent the romantic comedy, but neither does it shame the genre. That broader point is expressed late in the film by Connor's exasperated brother, who exclaims, "For years I kept trying to convince myself there was something redeemable about you!" Turns out there is-it just took a few ghosts to bring it out in Connor. The other sex-based jokes are crude and work against the film's broader point, rather than underlining it. The story uses those references to make a point about a better way to live, but that message applies mainly to Connor. The film's most problematic area is the free talk about sexual exploits, which already oversaturate today's pop culture. Garner, who brought such warmth to Juno, connects again as the hardened but still vulnerable Jenny. It's a predictable mishmash, but McConaughey plays the jerk quite well and is convincing enough in his transformation. The parallels to A Christmas Carol aren't strict and the story isn't as powerful, but Ghosts has a decent amount of laughs-OK, mostly chuckles, but with the drumbeat of grim national news as of late, a little fluff goes a long ways. As a grown man, he's a fashion photographer who lives in the fast lane, loving and leaving women without consequences. The traits haven't paid off for Connor, but he's too shallow and commitment-phobic to realize it. The film takes its structure from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol: A callous character gets a wake-up call from the ghost of someone once close to him-in this case, Michael Douglas, as Connor's Uncle Wayne, who raised Connor after the death of the young boy's parents and taught him all his womanizing ways. The jokes and discussion about Connor's sexual escapades push the film well into "PG-13" territory, but the central character's transformation, while predictable, gives the film a bit more depth-just a bit-than might be expected. Now, as Connor Mead in Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, he's playing a sleazeball of another type-a Scrooge character known not for stinginess, but for a string of women he's bedded and left behind. McConaughey regained some of his comic mojo as the sleazy agent in last year's send-up of pampered Hollywood actors, Tropic Thunder. Along the way, he became known more for showing off his physique than for showing any acting chops. The actor, who showed such comedic promise in early roles like the lecherous loser in Dazed and Confused morphed into a preening leading man in such romantic comedies as Fool's Gold and Failure to Launch. The joke among the crowd gathered for a preview screening of Ghosts of Girlfriends Past was how many minutes into the film would McConaughey appear shirtless. Unfortunately for him, it's not for his acting. Rating: PG-13 (for sexual content throughout, some language and a drug reference)Īctors: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Michael Douglas, Breckin Meyer, Lacey Chabert, Anne Archer, Robert Forster, Emma Stone, Daniel Sunjata, Noureen DeWulf
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