HollywoodChicago.com RSS   Facebook   HollywoodChicago.com on Twitter   LinkedIn   E-Mailing   Free PR

Matthew McConaughey’s ‘Ghosts of Girlfriends Past’ Overdone, But Relatable

CHICAGO – “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” is the cinematic blending of two familiar formulas: the “love, lose and then love again” framework of most romantic comedies with the idea of transforming ghosts from the classic “A Christmas Carol”. The result: an overdone yet relatable story of a man coming to terms with his true desires.

Celebrity photographer Connor Mead (Matthew McConaughey) makes a high-profile living shooting the scantily clad. Connor’s true fame, however, seems to come from the serial seduction of his subjects: double-booked dates and time-saving breakups via conference call are a way of life for this master manipulator.

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.0/5.0
Rating: 3.0/5.0

His reputation preceding him, Connor is only a half-expected guest at his kid brother’s wedding. Upon arrival, he makes no effort to hide his disdain for long-term commitment while attempting to convince his brother, Paul (Breckin Meyer), to cancel the nuptials. The presence of Connor’s childhood sweetheart and scorned love, Jenny Perotti (Jennifer Garner), does little to mute his provocative behavior.

Connor’s antics predictably begin to unravel the wedding and those around him. And so begins Connor’s spiritual awakening – literally – as he’s confronted by the ghost of his mentor: the late Uncle Wayne (Michael Douglas). Connor’s cad uncle reflects regretfully (yet comically) on his own life and the way in which he raised his nephew.

StarRead Elizabeth Oppriecht’s full review of “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” in our reviews section.

Uncle Wayne announces the pending arrival of the three ghosts and we’re soon whisked away on a journey through time.

This critic feels about the sequence exploring past girlfriends the way she feels about McConaughey’s experiment with his long hair: “eh”. The supposedly 16-year-old ghost, Allison Vandermeersh (Emma Stone), is distractingly over the top.

“Ghosts of Girlfriends Past,” which stars Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Michael Douglas, Breckin Meyer, Lacey Chabert, Robert Forster, Anne Archer, Emma Stone, Daniel Sunjata and Noureen DeWulf, opened everywhere on May 1, 2009. The film is rated PG-13.

StarRead Elizabeth Oppriecht’s full review of “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past”.

Connor Mead (Matthew McConaughey) desperately tries to save the wedding cake from disaster in Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Connor Mead (Matthew McConaughey) tries to save the wedding cake in “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past”.
Photo credit: New Line Cinema

StarRead Elizabeth Oppriecht’s full review of “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past”.

Microcinema International's picture

Daniel Sunjata

Daniel Sunjata who plays Brad in “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” also dramatically narrates Dylan Avery’s upcoming documentary, “Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup.” You should check out the full press release here.
The truth will be revealed 9-22-09

*The views and opinions expressed in this film and the extra features are not necessarily those of Microcinema Inc.*

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Adds typographic refinements.
  • You may quote other posts using [quote] tags.
  • Use <!--pagebreak--> to create page breaks.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent spam submissions.


Hot stories on the Web

Hot Web Entertainment Stories


User Login

TV, DVD, BLU-RAY & THEATER REVIEWS

  • My Neighbor Totoro

    CHICAGO – I usually avoid this kind of hyperbole but I adore the best of Studio Ghibli and know their entire catalog well and so I feel I can say it — “My Neighbor Totoro” is one of the best family films of all time. Hayao Miyazaki’s gentle variation on “Alice in Wonderland,” has everything that we identify with Ghibli, including a respect for nature, magical sense of fantasy, and importance of family.

  • Fringe: "August"

    CHICAGO – I find it fascinating that “Fringe,” the show that always seemed to be on the bubble for renewal and was always included in articles about low-rated programming, appears to be one of the most influential on the Fall 2013 season. FOX has two new dramas in the Fall and they’re both from “Fringe” alum — J.J. Abrams’ “Almost Human” and Robert Orci & Alex Kurtzman’s “Sleepy Hollow”. They’re clearly looking for, believe it or not, the next “Fringe.” For while the smart sci-fi drama never found a huge audience on TV, it found an incredibly loyal one on Blu-ray, On Demand, iTunes, etc. and those fans can now complete their collection with a bittersweet but complete fifth and final season release.

Free Giveaway Mailing

HollywoodChicago.com Hookup, free entertainment giveaway mailing

Advertisement


HollywoodChicago.com on Twitter

LIST OF UPCOMING EVENTS

HollywoodChicago.com Archive

Bookmark Us

Bookmark HollywoodChicago.com 
Bookmark Page 

Related Links

HollywoodChicago.com Top Ten Discussions
tracker