The “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past,” predictable if you know anything about A Christmas Carol, is ruined by its star, Matthew McConaughey. He’s so good at being sleazy that I didn’t believe his transformation at the end. Fortunately, the movie benefits from a stellar supporting cast. Connor Mead (McConaughey) is a womanizing photographer whose relationships last as long as it takes to have the women fall in love with him. Connor doesn’t believe in love or marriage, which means he’s not pleased that his younger brother Paul (Breckin Meyer) is getting hitched to the high strung daughter (Lacey Chabert) of a former military man (Robert Forster). Connor’s boorish behavior threatens to ruin the wedding weekend as he propositions both the bride’s mother (Anne Archer) and a bridesmaid and leaves the bride in tears. The only person willing to call Connor on his behavior is Jenny (Jennifer Garner), his childhood sweetheart, who is now a doctor. Paul and Jenny are the only two who hope that Connor can be redeemed and that salvation arrives in the form of Connor’s late Uncle Wayne (Michael Douglas), a consummate ladies’ man who has returned from the grave to show Connor the error of his ways. To prove his point, he has arranged for his nephew to be visited by three ghosts.
A more talented actor would have proved believable in this role. As it stands, McConaughey allows his character to remain such an unrepentant, misogynistic creep for most of the movie that almost all sympathy has been lost for his character by the time he finally begins to see the light. Luckily, when the two of them are on screen together, Garner is able to coax some genuine warmth and depth of character from McConaughey. While she and Meyer provide the emotional heart of the movie, others pick up some slack by providing laughs, especially amusing are Forester and Douglas. Director Mark Waters was smart to surround his star with such talent. Without their combined efforts, “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” wouldn’t stand a ghost of a chance of being entertaining. 5/3/09
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