GHOST OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST:A NUTSHELL REVIEW

Uncle Wayne salutes the "Good Life."

Conner Mead and aide, Sandra

This movie faithfully followed the storyline of Mr. Charles Dickens’ A CHRISTMAS CAROL. It was so blantant that protagonist Conner Mead, toward the film’s end leaned out a second floor window and in the best of spirits yelled to a passerby, “Is It Christmas?” Well, it’s not “Merry Christmas” exactly, but the sound pattern is close. In this retelling of Dickens’ tale the vice to consider is hedonism rather than miserliness. To be more focused sexual libertinism is the fault.

The film opened with famed photographer, Conner Mead (McConaughey) demonstrating his skills with a camera and at the same time with beautiful women. [This film gave minor roles to a large number of pretty women.] He was enjoying himself. Then, here came a downer. He was obliged to attend a weekend wedding rehearsal, as the groom was his brother Paul (Meyer), and Conner had agreed to be best man. His self-centered ways came close to spoiling the wedding plans of Paul and Vonda. She was given to “spells,” anyway, and her father, the sergeant, is both granite-faced and a bit weird. There was an old untouched flame attending by the name of Jenny Perotti (Garner). Throwing everything out of Earthly orbit was the appearance in this film of a Marley correlative, Uncle Wayne (Douglas). He had been Conner’s mentor in the “love ‘em & leave ‘em” school of wooing. “Enjoy yourself, Conner, because you’ve got only one ride through the park” being a reasonable interpretation of his playboy philosophy. Since Uncle Wayne was dead, his appearance to Conner at the old Mead Estate in Rhode Island was an unexpected event. Death hadn’t changed him much. He warns Conner that he will be visited by a “Ghost of Girlfriends Past” and also by a Ghostly Gal of the Future. At the rehearsal Conner tried to rekindle something with his childhood girlfriend, Jenny, who, after all, had not been conquered by him. There is potential competition from Brad, who is a doctor. She’s a medical doctor now also, certainly was no fool, but, yes, still had a place in her heart for Conner, if he’d just change. She had been his past, was now free in his present, but would she be his future? The combination of ghostly re-introductions to his past, a better understanding of Uncle Wayne’s life, and a ghostly revelation of his likely end, given his past and present, had a way of opening Conner’s eyes. He saw that a life full of love-making was not the same as a life full of love. As with A CHRISTMAS CAROL, this is a film with a positive conclusion.

The film attempted a variety of comedic moments from very witty (Barnard College) to slapstick (wedding cake disaster) with better than anticipated results. However, humor is  subjective. Yet, this light romantic comedy should appeal to many. Don’t expect any of the actors to be nominated for an Academy Award. The film was directed by Mark Waters.

Players: Matthew McConaughey as Conner, Jennifer Garner as Jeremy Perotti, Michael Douglas as Uncle Wayne, Breckin Meyer as Paul Mead, Lacey Chabert as Sandra, Robert Forster as Sergeant Volkom, Anne Archer as Vonda Volkom, and Daniel Sunjata as Brad.

All rights reserved. Gobigfoot, 2009
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