The Movie

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is a romantic comedy starring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner. The film is loosely based on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. The story is about a troubled individual who has turned his back on love. A ghost in the form of his uncle tells him ghosts of former girlfriends will take him into the past, the present, and the future. They will show him what becomes of his life if he does not make a drastic change for the better. Overall, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is not a great flick, but at the same time it is not terrible. It has its moments and makes for a decent movie, but it definitely should not be at the top of your list to own or watch.

Connor Mead (Matthew McConaughey) is a full-blown playboy and treats women like things. His goal is to bed as many women as possible and not get emotionally attached. He does not believe in love or relationships. Connor grew up without a proper father figure. When he was a kid, his parents died in accident. He went to live with his uncle Wayne (Michael Douglas). Wayne gave him bad advice, which ultimately drove Connor to becoming the self-centered guy he is today. As a kid, the neighbor girl Jenny Perotti (Jennifer Garner) was his best friend. As they grew older, their friendship started to blossom into childhood love. During a school dance, Connor missed the opportunity to dance and kiss Jenny, which left him with a broken heart when she shared her first kiss in front of him with an older boy.

It was at this moment that the estranged Wayne and Connor bonded. They finally had something they could see on the same level. Wayne taught Connor everything he knew about women. As the years went by, Connor vowed to never let his emotions hurt him and use women for his needs. As the story progresses, Wayne is getting ready to go back home for his younger brother Paul's (Breckin Meyer) wedding. The entire wedding party is skeptical to have him, as they know how selfish he can be and his thoughts on marriage. Despite, Paul firmly believes his brother can change and he is the only remaining family that he has.

No one is happy to Connor when he arrives with the exception of Paul. Immediately, he starts to rub everyone the wrong way, especially when he gets on his high horse about how dumb love is. Slowly, his thoughts on love change when the ghost of deceased uncle Wayne pay him a visit. Wayne wants Connor to change. Life is lonely without love and there is no reason that Connor should continue to make the same mistakes. Wayne informs him that he will be visited by three ghosts who are girlfriends from his past, present, and future. The intention is A Christmas Carol rendition of love, which will hopefully help Connor see the truth about love.

As the story continues, Connor is met by the Ghost of Girlfriends Past, Present, and Future. Past is Allison Vandermeersh (Emma Stone), who was Connor's first. She takes him to his childhood when he was very close with Jenny. She also shows him when his heart was first broken and how he had a chance to be happy with Jenny, but gave up because of fear of being hurt. Present is Melanie (Noureen DeWulf), who is his assistant and the only stable woman in his life. She shows him what everyone really thinks about him. Future (Olga Maliouk) gives him a real shocker by showing him how empty and lonely he will become. Despite all the women, he never finds anyone who truly cares about him. Connor soon realizes the errors of his ways and tries to fix it before it is too late. Unfortunately, along the way he ruins the wedding by hitting on the bride's mother, destroying the cake, breaking up the bride and groom, and Jenny is being setup with another guy.

Overall, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is an average movie. The story is pretty basic and almost a direct adaptation of A Christmas Carol. The story is predictable with some assorted over-the-top, funny moments. It is is billed as a romantic comedy, but the romance factor is minimal. There is not a lot of focus on romance development and more of Connor's crude, abrasive personality. In general, there are more problems with the film than there are positive qualities. However, Garner and McConaughey have good chemistry together. Unfortunately, they do not have a lot of true quality time together on screen. In the end, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is not a great movie, but it is not terrible either. If you happen to be in a situation to watch it, it will not be a waste of your time. It is a decent rental, but not a movie I would want to watch over and over again (I have seen it three times; twice on airplane and again on DVD).

The DVD

Video:
The DVD can be watched in either 2.35:1 ratio widescreen color (matted aspect ratio of 1.78:1) or 1:33 full frame color. The quality is good and offers a fairly sharp and clean picture. There is a grain and minor compression artifacts. There are also some hints of edge enhancement, but there is nothing that should interfere with your viewing experience.

Audio:
The audio is presented in English 5.1 Dolby digital surround sound. The 5.1 track is dynamic and makes decent use of the surround sound capability. In general, the sound quality is good and it provides an audible and clean track for dialogue and it sounds very lively when necessary (music, etc.). The DVD also contains subtitles in English and Spanish.

Extras:
There are no extras included with this DVD release.

Final Thoughts:
Ghost of Girlfriends Past is not a revolutionary movie. There is nothing about it that will move you, make you feel, or even make you laugh until it hurts. Instead, the movie is a fairly average comedy with little depth. And while it is billed as a romantic comedy, it tends to be a movie with a few silly moments. If you are looking for a great romantic comedy, there are better ones out there. With that said, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is a decent movie and it will entertain you on some level, but it has very limited replay value.