Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Mark Waters

Writers (WGA):

Jon Lucas (written by) &
Scott Moore (written by)

Release Date:

1 May 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

Tagline:

You can't always run from your past

Plot:

A bachelor is haunted by the ghosts of his past girlfriends at his younger brother's wedding.

Plot Keywords:

Wedding | Ghost | Chick Flick | Kiss On The Lips | Flashback Sequence

Cast

Matthew McConaughey	...	Connor Mead
Jennifer Garner	...	Jenny Perotti
Michael Douglas	...	Uncle Wayne
Emma Stone	...	Allison Vandermeersh
Breckin Meyer	...	Paul
Lacey Chabert	...	Sandra
Robert Forster	...	Sergeant Volkom
Anne Archer	...	Vonda Volkom
Daniel Sunjata	...	Brad
Noureen DeWulf	...	Melanie
Rachel Boston	...	Deena the Bridesmaid
Camille Guaty	...	Donna the Bridesmaid
Amanda Walsh	...	Denice the Bridesmaid
Emily Foxler	...	Nadja
Catherine Haena Kim	...	Charlece

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual content throughout, some language and a drug reference.

Runtime:

USA:100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #44969) | Ireland:15A | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Singapore:PG | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Sweden:Btl | Iceland:7 | Mexico:B | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Argentina:Atp | Peru:PT | Finland:K-7 | Taiwan:PG-12 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:15 | Brazil:12 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

Christa B. Allen, who plays teenage Jenny, the younger version of Jennifer Garner's character in the movie, also starred in 13 Going on 30 (2004), in which she played a teenage version of Jennifer Garner's character as well.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: While some have said that Nadja is not a Romanian girl's name, but a Russian girl's name, this is not necessarily true. Nadia Comaneci is a Romanian gymnast, and the j/i distinction in the name is simply two different ways to denote the same velarization of consonants that occurs in many languages.

Quotes:

Connor Mead: Someone once told me that the power in all relationships lies with whoever cares less, and he was right. But power isn't happiness, and I think that maybe happiness comes from caring more about people rather than less...

Movie Connections:

References The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Soundtrack:

Don't Say Love (The Smooth Mix)

Ebeneezer Screwed...

A mix of modern-day Charles Dickens classic A Christmas CAROL along with man-whoring, GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST is a no-brainer with a pretty powerful cast that really does nothing with a script that rehashes this very old theme: regret and redemption.

The cast drew me in to see this (that and the fact that I was stuck on a flight with nothing else to do but watch an inflight film!) Matthew McConaughey (TROPIC THUNDER) is the lead as Connor Mead, a guy who's sexual exploits might make a Congressman blush. He's never married but always had a childhood crush on Jenny Perotti (Jennifer Garner, JUNO). The two never got together because of Connor's youthful shyness and Jenny's need to fit in. But now that Connor is returning home for his brother's wedding, things are getting a bit weird. Connor begins seeing his late, great Uncle Wayne (Michael Douglas, KING OF California) in strange visions. His deceased Uncle tells him, in true Dickensonian fashion, that he'll be greeted by three ghosts this night. And they're going to show him the error of his relationship-phobic ways.

If you've read or watched any of the Christmas Carol renditions, you'll know exactly how this turns out. Like I said, no-brainer.

The sad thing about this film is that they try to make it light and fun, but fail miserably in almost all its attempts (some of you may be familiar with the falling wedding cake scene that has been used as a trailer ...and even that isn't really funny). The only thing that was consistently humorous was the bride, Emma Stone, as a neurotic who tries to keep herself together amidst the chaos of her wedding.

This one's a definite pass, even for those wishing to pass a bit of wasted time.