Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

I shouldn’t like this film as much as I do, in fact I felt quite embarrassed that I did when I walked out of it. Similarly, I felt the same about Mark Waters’ Mean Girls in 2004. Yes I ventured into that only because I had a hard-on for Lacey Chabert, but I was treated to an actual good satire of high school. No one will mistake Waters for Kurosawa mind you, but the guy has some magical touch when it comes to making what should be fluff likable. Yes folks, I’m here to say that despite the trailers, TV spots and promotion, a Matthew McConaughey romantic comedy is an actual, honest good film.

I feel like JoBlo for posting this image

It feels weird giving this such good praise, but unlike a recent action vehicle, everyone here seems to be wanting to make a good film. Michael Douglas is at the top of that list as he puts a fresh spin on an old trick. His Uncle Wayne is every macho playboy you’ve seen done time and again yet Douglas has this charm that makes it feel new. With the way he gallivants around, it’s pretty easy to see why Catherine Zeta-Jones wanted the old hoot. He’s helped by a script that’s surprisingly pretty smart, but I think all credit for how much of this works again should go to Mark Waters. The film clocks in at close to 100 minutes yet it breezes by. There are times the film feels like it’s going to drag on and instead feeds us what we need and moves on. Some of the subplots feel tacked on like Connor Mead’s (McConaughey) brother sleeping with one of Lacey Chabert’s bridesmaids* but it never hurts the film. In fact, until now I barely considered it a flaw.

What’s even more amazing is how invested in the characters the film lets you become. The ending is predictable, no question, yet one feels for Connor and Jenny Perotti (Jennifer Garner) as we see how they came to be and how badly their relationship ended up. This isn’t “guy A likes girl A and connect the dots” like other romcom’s, at least it doesn’t feel like it. The film doesn’t paint one as the hero or villain which is a nice change of pace. Seldom we’re given a love story were the leads are marketed to hate the other with no real reason and that these two people would never get along. This isn’t it, as Waters and company feel we deserve to know why Connor Mead is a womanizer and why he treats Jenny with such disrespect. His actions in some ways feel justified when you see Jenny turn her attentions away from him in favor of another guy at a junior high dance. You have to give them credit for not treating their audience like idiots.

Connor Mead would be useless if McConaughey was horrid and while he doesn’t break new ground he does a fine job. We expect him to be the epitome of assholeism in the beginning but what’s even sweeter is when he handles Connor’s change. Maybe it was the writing, maybe it was the direction, but McConaughey feels like a man who’s had an experience of change and not some schmo who feels he had to for the sake of it. On the flip side Jennifer Garner is serviceable and plays her more as a reserved woman rather than an outlandish, bubbly type. The only real problem isn’t her fault but of the film telling everything mostly through Connor’s point of view. Certainly we don’t really need it and yes it does cut down on the run time but maybe a scene or two more of Jenny would have helped.

Michael Douglas does steal the thunder away from the leads and all of the supporting players, but I want to give special mention to Emma Stone who plays the title character. Allison Vandermeersh is a role that easily could have ended up being annoying and useless yet she comes off like you’d expect a seventeen year-old girl to act. I almost wished she’d been the past, present, and future ghosts so more of her performance could have been enjoyed. With Superbad and this now under her belt I hope the gal can find some leading roles as she’s a really great talent. The only problem the supporting cast has is Noureen DeWulf who really doesn’t do much with being the Ghosts of Girlfriends Present. Maybe in some other film it would have been fine but everyone around her steps up her game so you’d expect the same level of commitment from her.

I’m sure most men will be dragged to this with their wives or girlfriends and I’m here to tell you it’s okay to like it. There are flaws but most are what we expect of romcoms and aren’t worth mentioning. Me? I’m still in amazement I just spent the last few paragraphs praising a film I should have not liked and is really not tuned for my action-guru tastes. Unlike the film it opens against I find myself liking it a bit more with each thought I have of it. Normally when a romcom opens against the action blockbuster, I consider those who see the date movie lacking their male genitalia and pussies. This year, it’s the opposite as both male and female alike should give their money to this.