Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
It’s time to find some true love in the face of … er… all those past girlfriends
Tags: Misc DVD 2009 Categories: DVD/TV Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Oct 15th, 2009
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is a clear cut adaptation of A Christmas Carol. Matthew McConaughey takes on the Scrooge role as Connor Mead, a man who has some commitment issues. Michael Douglas is Uncle Wayne, the Jacob Marley in this story, and in this adaptation has a much greater role not just as a former business partner, but as the man who trained Connor in the ways of how to get a woman in bed (and not cook breakfast).
Being an adaptation, in both time, setting and genre, there are quite a few changes. One of the major changes is that of the lack of Bob Cratchit is split into two people – Connor’s brother Paul, played by Breckin Meyer, and Jenny, played by Jennifer Garner. The character of Jenny and her relationship with Connor is the focal point of the emotional investment for the viewer. Instead of Scrooge finally getting into the Christmas spirit and at the end celebrating the holiday with his employee, we have Connor attending his brother Paul’s wedding.
We know how this is going to end. We know Connor and Jenny are going to get together. What I wasn’t prepared for was to actually enjoy the film for what it was. While it was predictable, the charm and chemistry of the actors helped to overcome the pitfalls that would typically derail a film such as this.
The execution of Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, the writing and directing, doesn’t try to make the film more than what it needs to be. The film isn’t necessarily self-aware, but it knows this is light entertainment and doesn’t try to break out of that mold.
It’s not a perfect film, there are several characters that are completely underdeveloped. Some of the emotional impact moments fall flat and the character of Connor doesn’t quite have the depth necessary. Despite these issues, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is enjoyable enough to watch.
As for special features, the best of the bunch are the deleted scenes. There’s about 10 minutes of these alternate scenes and snipped bits. A couple of featurettes total 15 minutes and are all fluff without any substance. I wasn’t expecting a lot, but this is actually a little less than what I had hoped for.
For those looking for a decent romantic comedy, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past fits the bill. It’s not the best, but it’s not nearly as bad as it could be or as I had expected.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ Decent adaptation of A Christmas Carol + Charming story/cast |
7.0 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
- Character depth isn't as good as it should be - Conner is a little more one-dimensional than he should be |
|
| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| for what it is and what it is trying to be, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is worth renting. | |
[ Post the first comment | View related posts ]
Tags: Misc DVD 2009
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Oct 15th, 2009 and is filed under DVD/TV Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
