A parade of clumsy slapstick, unerring homophobia, and Big Fat Life Lessons.
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009)
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Reviews Counted:135
Fresh:36
Rotten:99
Average Rating:4.2/10
Consensus: A retread of A Christmas Carol, featuring Matthew McConaughey in a retread of his Dazed and Confused role, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past lacks originality, humor, and any semblance of charm.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for sexual content throughout, some language and a drug reference.
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:May 1, 2009 Wide
Box Office: $55,179,308
Synopsis:
Celebrity photographer Connor Mead (MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY) loves freedom, fun and women...in that order. A committed bachelor with a no-strings policy, he thinks nothing of breaking up with multiple...
Celebrity photographer Connor Mead (MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY) loves freedom, fun and women...in that order. A committed bachelor with a no-strings policy, he thinks nothing of breaking up with multiple women on a conference call while prepping his next date.
Connor's brother Paul is more the romantic type. In fact, he's about to be married. Unfortunately, on the eve of the big event, Connor's mockery of romance proves a real buzz-kill for Paul, the wedding party and a houseful of well wishers -- including Connor's childhood friend Jenny (JENNIFER GARNER), the one woman in his life who has always seemed immune to his considerable charm.
Just when it looks like Connor may single-handedly ruin the wedding, he gets a wake-up call from the ghost of his late Uncle Wayne (MICHAEL DOUGLAS), the hard-partying, legendary ladies man upon whose exploits Connor has modeled his lifestyle. Uncle Wayne has an urgent message for his protege, which he delivers through the ghosts of Connor's jilted girlfriends -- past, present and future -- who take him on a revealing and hilarious odyssey through a lifetime of failed relationships.
Together, they will discover what turned Connor into such a shameless player and whether he has a second chance to find -- and this time, keep -- the love of his life.
New Line Cinema presents a Jon Shestack/Panther Production of a Mark Waters Film: Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner in the romantic comedy Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. The film also stars Breckin Meyer, Lacey Chabert, Robert Forster, Anne Archer, Emma Stone and Michael Douglas.
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is directed by Mark Waters from a script by Jon Lucas & Scott Moore, and produced by Jon Shestack and Brad Epstein. Executive producers are Marcus Viscidi, Mark Waters, Jessica Tuchinsky, Toby Emmerich, Cale Boyter and Samuel J. Brown, with Ginny Brewer as co-producer. The creative team includes director of photography Daryn Okada, production designer Cary White, editor Bruce Green and costume designer Denise Wingate. Music is by Rolfe Kent. Executive music producer is Ralph Sall.
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. --© Warner Bros
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Michael Douglas, Breckin Meyer
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Michael Douglas, Breckin Meyer, Lacey Chabert, Emma Stone, Anne Archer, Robert Forster, Amanda Walsh
Director: Mark Waters
Director: Mark Waters
Screenwriter: Scott Moore, John Lucas
Producer: Jon Shestack, Brad Epstein
Composer: Rolfe Kent
Studio: New Line Cinema
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Reviews for Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
A deluge of dim jokes and rote romantic interludes between Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner that are intended to recall Charle's Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." God help us all.
Matthew McConaughey proves better than the material put before him in the intermittently intriguing Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Ideally, you want to see the male and female leads end up together in a romantic comedy; if not, it all starts to become kind of creepy.
Although there are some sweetly sentimental moments, they are not nearly enough to redeem what is otherwise a fairly mean-spirited film.
A watchable pastiche of A Christmas Carol, this rom-com resorts to corny slapstick a bit too often but also manages to find moments of real resonance
The comedy is reduced to pratfalls and embarrassing situations, and much of it comes across as just mean-spirited.
Director Mark Waters finds the movie's laughs in the supporting players: Michael Douglas, Emma Stone and Lacey Chabert.
The only thing of note is that its star, Matthew McConaughey, doesn't remove his shirt
A slick, standard Hollywood studio produced romantic comedy that utilizes a clever conceit and some expert supporting comedic performances to help it squeak by.
McConaughey too once showed promise, but here he seems to be auditioning for a bad sitcom, while Garner misuses her gawky sincerity.
I suppose your reaction to the film will depend to some extent on whether or not you find Matthew McConaughey a charmer. I don’t, so I found Connor repulsive with no redeeming features.
Let's be clear: this is trash, not very funny and sometimes jaw-droppingly insulting.
The ending does a big flip flop, but if you go in with low expectations, you'll have a hard not laughing in Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.
Good romantic comedies are harder and harder to find these days, but for the diehard romantic, it proves there's still some life left in the genre.
'Ghosts of Girlfriends Past' lacks energy and originality, plus the characters are too shallow to care about. But Michael Douglas is delightful.
There are many ways you can deal with the hypocrisies and faults of the male libido; Fellini spent a career exploring this terrain (think 8½, City of Women) but there is nothing interesting on the subject here.
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