Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009)

Although I would consider fellow Longview High School graduate, Matthew McConaughey’s films more on the bad side than good, his charm is infectious just because you know he probably knows this. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past takes The Christmas Carol theme we all know so well and thrusts it onto Connor Mead (McConaughey), an egotistical, big-time photographer who attends his brother’s wedding, despite his disdain for the sacred tradition. Of course one of his former loves is a bridesmaid… and you can probably figure out the rest from here. There isn’t a whole lot to say about the film except that if you like the trailer, you’ll like the movie. It was one of those films that you decide whether to have fun or not as you walk into the theater. This time I had fun. I was able to discount some of the bad acting and implausible characters and focused on the fun of the three ghosts and their leader (Michael Douglas), and how they would plop in and out of Connor’s life. You know there is a happy ending coming, so it keeps you invested. It doesn’t even come close to having the moral impact that past Scrooges have presented to us, but I’ll just say that it was nice to see a chase scene in a romantic comedy that wasn’t necessarily aimed at the main love interest (Jennifer Garner). As I previously said, you’ll enjoy this one about as much you think you will. With that, I give Ghosts of Girlfriends Past 3 out of 5 “Time After Time” montage sequences.

• On a side note… This film didn’t have much language, but I’ve never heard the word sex or the slang for the word used so many times in a PG-13 rated film. I don’t know if it gets a pass because it’s a romantic comedy, but it shows that the MPAA rating system is screwy if this gets a PG-13 rating and Slumdog Millionaire gets a R. I’m just saying…