Ghosts of girlfriends past uncle wayne7/27/2023 Like “Wedding Crashers,” there’s lots of great supporting players around the two leads, not all of them trying to steal the show as is often the case. Scenes from the commercial like Connor facing all of the women he’s dated and slept with is even funnier with Stone offering a play-by-play. It’s a memorable comic character on par with Alyson Hannigan in the first “American Pie,” and it quickly turns things around and sets the movie on a better course. ![]() That’s best exemplified by the presence of Emma Stone, completely glammed-down as Connor’s first sex partner–a loud-mouthed teenager with braces and crazy big hair–who takes Connor through his past. The results are something more layered than the typical man-hating chick flick, more in the straight comedy vein of “Wedding Crashers.” If you’re merely a Dickens fan, you should enjoy the way the concept is used to save the movie from being merely another “meet cute” rom-com. By comparison, Garner isn’t exactly trying hard to get away from her normal role, so she often is forced to take a backseat to McConaughey in their scenes together. Over the course of the film, Connor becomes less of a one-dimensional jerk and more of a sympathetic character, which is why it actually does succeed on a number of levels. Women will immediately bond over their hatred towards Connor’s womanizing ways, but men will secretly admire him and wish they could be that way. ![]() ![]() “Fool’s Gold” tried to bring the sexes together, but “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” actually succeeds without trying as hard. (Wisely, the movie doesn’t take place during the holidays, which probably would have taken the idea too far.)įor years, there’s been a fairly big divide between the movies McConaughey made for guys (“Frailty”) and those he did for the ladies (“Failure to Launch”). Just as that story has been used to get would-be Scrooges into the Christmas spirit, one can see how this movie might convince unromantic womanizing louts to accept their true feelings. The thought of setting a romantic comedy in the world of “A Christmas Carol” might seem like the simplest and most obvious high concept premise one can find, but you should be able to tell from the above that there’s far more going on in this movie that help its Dickensian twists work in this context. Unbeknownst to Connor, Jenny is being set-up with the perfect guy, a hot doctor named Brad (Daniel Sunjata), and Connor has to scramble if he wants to win Jenny back. Connor is forced to relieve his earlier years with Jenny and other women with the help of a number of “ghosts” who want to open his eyes to the real meaning of love. Connor is soon visited by the “Marley’s Ghost” in the form of his philandering mentor Uncle Wayne, essentially Michael Douglas paying tribute to Hugh Hefner and Hollywood producer Bob Evans. Her maid-of-honor is Jenny Perotti (Garner), Connor’s childhood sweetheart, the two of them not having talked after he deserted after a passionate evening together. Connor’s younger brother (played by Breckin Meyer) is getting married to his needy girlfriend (Lacey Chabert) but as a staunch advocate against marriage, Connor tries to talk his brother out of it. He’s not particularly nice to the women who fall for him, as we watch him break up with three of them via conference call. Anyone who loved Bill Murray’s “Scrooged” should be able to enjoy at least some of what director Mark Waters (“Freaky Friday,” “Mean Girls”) does with the material it’s doubtful this movie would have worked even remotely in the hands of a lesser filmmaker.Ĭonnor Mead isn’t much of a stretch for McConaughey, a photographer who has access to the hottest women who will disrobe at his command. When he attends his younger brother’s wedding, he’s reminded of the feelings he once had for his childhood sweetheart Jenny Perotti (Jennifer Garner), but as he fights those feelings, he’s visited by the ghost of his womanizing mentor, Uncle Wayne (Michael Douglas), who tells his protégé to expect visits from ghosts of three of his past girlfriends who’ll help set him straight.Īs someone who has sat through any number of bad formula romantic comedies and far too many of them starring Matthew McConaughey, it’s somewhat disconcerting to think that he might have found a vehicle that finally breaks the trend, but you know what? “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” isn’t half-bad, because it never tries to be something other than what it promises, a comedy version of “A Christmas Carol” with a twist. As much as “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” delivers exactly what is advertised, for a comedy that doesn’t require a lot of heavy thinking, it tries hard not to dumb things down too much, nor skimp on character or storytelling either.įashion photographer Connor Mead (Matthew McConaughey) is a notorious ladies man, who’s often juggling a half dozen women at a time.
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