Playing on the theme of the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future from the Charles Dickens classic ‘A Christmas Carol’, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past replaces an old, miserly man with an attractive guy that doesn’t believe in love. An entertaining and amusing journey ensues as the ghosts attempt to help him change his ways and win the love of his life before it’s too late.

The opening scene tries to get all of the audience involved, as the girls think, ‘Ooh, look at Matthew McConaughey’, and the guys think, ‘I’m liking those girls in lingerie’. We are introduced to Connor Mead (McConaughey), the sought-after photographer with a reputation for womanising, going about his daily duties (including the womanising part!) before driving down to his younger brother Paul’s (Breckin Meyer) wedding. It doesn’t take long for Connor’s nature to show, realising he has previously slept with three of the four bridesmaids, and giving a large speech at the wedding rehearsal dinner about how he doesn’t believe in love. His hero is his late Uncle Wayne (Michael Douglas), who was quite the player in his time and taught Connor everything he knows. It is immediately obvious, upon his greeting to maid of honour Jenny Perotti (Jennifer Garner), that there is some unresolved tension there, further endorsed by a few heated little exchanges. Connor tries very hard to block out whatever happened between them and continue with his womanising ways at the party the night before the wedding. But after a few too many scotches, he visits the men’s room to see the ghost of Uncle Wayne standing before him, telling him that he will be visited by the ghosts of girlfriends past, present and future that night. Much to Connor’s digust, Wayne tells him that he doesn’t want to end up alone and unloved like he did, and the ghosts will help to find where he went wrong. This is the start of a very entertaining set of events, as we are transported through time with an astonished Connor and his ghosts, to highlights and lowlights of his love life. The ghosts are trying to help him feel something again, but it may all be in vain as Connor has managed to throw the whole wedding into turmoil and further isolate the girl of his dreams in the process.

The film turned out to be much more enjoyable than I expected it to be. Of course, when you see a poster for a romantic comedy with two very attractive leads, you can pretty much pick how the story will end. In many ways, it did follow the regular recipe for a rom-com: the introduction to the characters, the unresolved tension, the conflict and the eventual resolution. However, ‘Ghosts of Girlfriends Past’ managed to make the ride very amusing, with lots of laughs and light-hearted moments along the way. There are a few ‘awwww!’ moments that the girls will appreciate, including the scenes on the swings and Connor’s last-ditch effort to save the wedding. Michael Douglas turns in a great performance as the Hugh Hefner-esque Uncle Wayne, Jennifer Garner is lovely as usual and Matthew McConaughey suits the role as the rich, womanising, sleazy photographer. Also, the bride-turned-bridezilla Sandra (Lacey Chabert) and her father, war-obsessed ex-Marine Sargeant Volkom (Robert Forster), provide two very entertaining characters. As much as this is quite the chick flick, guys need not worry if they are dragged along to this one: even if you don’t care about the story, there’s plenty of attractive girls to look at! And there’s a nice, happy ending to make us all feel warm and fuzzy inside!!

Verdict:

Predictable but entertaining; Ghosts of Girlfriends Past has just enough laughter and love to fill the requirements of the rom-com genre.

[rating: 3/5]