?Ghosts of Girlfriends Past?
D: Mark Waters
S: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner

IN ?GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST,? director Mark Waters gives Charles Dickens? ?A Christmas Carol? a wacky rom-com spin: In the eyes of top fashion photographer, Connor Mead (Matthew McConaughey), marriage is an oppressive and archaic institution that ?always leaves men weak, dependent and fat.?

Solution

And, because Connor is extremely popular with the ladies, he can afford to be very upfront about his no-intimacy policy: There are simply too many women, and so little time. In fact, when he finds himself entangled in a romantic logjam with four women, his quick-fix solution is to break up with them through a telephone-conference call?all at the same time!

So, when Connor takes a break from his life in the fast lane to attend the wedding of his beloved younger brother, Paul (Breckin Meyer), he tries to convince the latter that he?s making the biggest mistake of his life?but not if Jennifer Perotti (Jennifer Garner), Connor?s first love, has any say about it!

Jenny gets a lot of help from Connor?s dead Uncle Wayne (Michael Douglas), who?s come back to give his narcissistic nephew some Dickensian spanking: On the night before the wedding, the big-city playboy gets a visit from three ghosts?who take him back to his past, watch his present with him, and reveal his lonely future?to see where he?s lost his way.

Waters lacks the insight and directorial vision to pull off his film?s ambitious conceit. In one particularly corny scene, you see Douglas reminding his nephew of his errant ways with a rain of tears (courtesy of all the women he hurt), followed by a downpour of tissue paper and?gasp?condoms?? Come on. Moreover, there isn?t much of a convincing explanation for his protagonist?s misogyny.

To be fair, however, there are some genuinely touching moments, but they come in disparate spurts. It?s also a relief that the performances of Lacey Chabert (as the hilariously nervous bride), Anne Archer, Robert Forster and, most notably, Douglas are so watchable that they compensate for the movie?s trite and treacly exposition.

Golden-boy sheen

McConaughey fits his role to a T, but he has obviously lost much of the charm and golden-boy sheen that brought him A-list stardom in 1996?s ?A Time to Kill.? His role here requires the charismatic appeal of an actor who can make viewers overlook his character?s despicable and manipulative nature. Sadly, it is in this area that McConaughey fails?which is a pity, because he showed genuine promise in the aforementioned Grisham thriller and in Jill Sprecher?s 2001 ensemble piece, ?13 Conversations About One Thing.?

And, it doesn?t help the actor that Garner, who?s relegated to pretty-wallflower status here, is so darn adorable and empathetic as the film?s damsel in romantic distress, despite her pared-down participation. McConaughey?s Connor is so obnoxious that you?ll find yourself rooting for Jenny?s romantic alternative, Brad (Daniel Sunjata), to sweep her off her feet?and put her out of her misery.