#86 - Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is a modern adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol. Connor Mead, a thoughtless, egotistical womanizer, travels home for his brother's wedding. There, he comes face to face with his old flame, Jenny Perotti. Instead of focusing on making his brother's big day a success, he makes it all about his conquest to get laid and live up to the legacy of his sleazy uncle. After completely ruining the wedding festivities, Connor is greeted by the ghost of his dead Uncle Wayne. He is forced to travel through time with three ghosts that not only show Connor the error of his ways, but they make him realize how special Jenny really is to him. He wakes up the morning of the wedding and works his magic to fix everything. He proves that family and love are more important to him than anything he thought was important before. Connor wins Jenny back, and everyone lives happily ever after.
This movie is an adorable re-imagining of the timeless tale. It brings new life to the theme of not taking life for granted and seeing the good in all things. It's hard for people to connect to Ebeneezer Scrooge and his curmudgeon-like ways; however, connecting to Connor being a womanizer and realizing he shouldn't shy away from love, but embrace it, is easy. It's an issue that most people struggle with nowadays. Connor is more real and relatable than Scrooge.
The film has a great cast. Breckin Meyer, Jennifer Garner, Lacey Chabert, Michael Douglas, Emma Stone, and Matthew McConaughey are terrific. I can't believe I put Matthew McConaughey and terrific in the same sentence, because I think he's annoying and very one-sided as an actor, but he is pretty enjoyable to watch in this film. The cast has a certain playfulness to their characters, and these actors fit very well into these roles.
Now that I've gotten over the good aspects of the movie, I'll dive into what is wrong with it. Overall, the idea of re-doing A Christmas Carol is completely overdone. Even though this movie is cute, it's boring and extremely predictable. Never for one second do I believe that Connor Mead will continue to be a prick, and Jenny will run off into the sunset with her "designated wedding sex" date, Brad instead. When you choose a well-known plot, you need to be willing to twist it. Romeo & Juliet? Have one or both of them live. Freaky Friday? Have the mother and daughter unable to switch back. A Christmas Carol? Have Connor not live happily ever after. Have him continue to enjoy his lifestyle so much that he loses the one person he ever loved forever. I know that's not how Hollywood works, but for once, I would love to see an unhappy ending. Why must the protagonist always win? If jumping to the extreme is a little too much, then why not have Connor begin to change slowly, but still be too late to win back Jenny? That's more realistic. Connor crushed her, and she has hated him for years. Why, in just one night, does she believe that he has changed? ONE speech to the bride-to-be about love, and Jenny dumps Brad and goes back to a man that has had the entire country in his bed. It makes Jenny a weak female character.
I also don't like how quickly Connor is willing to change. He is still having thoughts of sleeping with other women when he meets the Ghost of Girlfriends Present, but yet by the time he's done with the Ghost of Girlfriends Future, he's ready to change the world. At least Ebeneezer Scrooge became emotionally crippled when he realized Tiny Tim was dead, and that he would meet the same fate eventually. Connor gets a little upset about Jenny marrying Brad, and then it cuts to his funeral...where only his brother is attending...and he doesn't even break down...or cry. I never see that moment of clarity for Connor. He just seems to be sitting back and watching the events take place, but he isn't emotionally reacting to them more than just yelling and jumping around. Maybe that's just because Matthew McConaughey is an awful actor, or maybe it is a mistake on the director's part, but the breakdown of the protagonist when he realizes his fate is supposed to be an emotionally gripping scene where the audience finally understands and sympathizes with him. That doesn't happen in this film.
Overall, I give Ghosts of Girlfriends Past 3 out of 5 stars.
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