Thursday, May 7, 2009

Movie review (take two): Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

David T. Harwood

Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past is the latest in a current trend of romantic comedies with a magical premise (think 13 Going On 30, Over Her Dead Body...). Ghosts centers on playboy photographer Connor Mead (Matthew McConaughey) and rips its structure directly from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Over the course of one night Connor is visited by three ghosts representing his girlfriends past, present and future in an effort to make him re-evaluate his life and see that love really really is real... Yada yada yada...

Predictability aside, the interesting thing about this film is that despite the clearly “magical” premise, Ghosts is actually more suited to another rom-com sub-genre which has been popular of late: the male-centric rom-com. This sort of film has done quite well at the box office over the last few years. It started with The 40 Year Old Virgin, then progressed through to Definitely, Maybe and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Presumably this formula reaches more quadrants of the audience: girls will go see any old rom-com fluff, but guys will be more likely to appreciate the movie if it’s not just about some woman desperate to get married. The filmmakers seem attuned to this theory too: whilst watching a love scene from his own past, Connor tells the ghost of girlfriends past to “wake [him] at the next action sequence.” Sure enough, there is an action sequence (yes, in a rom-com) as the film reaches its climax - Connor driving downhill through snowy trees with Elvis’ Burning Love blasting on the radio. See, there’s something for everyone.

Or pretty much anyway. The supporting cast is great. Jennifer Garner is her usual stunning self in the female lead role. She even ditches her patented Jennifer-Garner-cry in favor of something more subtle. Although the film is centered around a wedding it’s neither of the lead couple’s, and it is always refreshing to see a rom-com where the female lead’s lone goal is simply to bag a man and walk the aisle. Michael Douglas features as Connor’s deceased uncle and guide to the spirit world - an aging Hugh Hefner-type who’s as charming as he is oblivious. Special mention has to go to Lacey Chabert as the diminutive bridezilla, who steals every scene she’s in and leaves you stunned that you’ve never seen her anywhere before. Chabert’s background is primarily in cartoon voice work, but she has the makings of a great comedienne and hopefully will pursue this avenue as her career progresses.

Whilst there’s nothing which really sets this movie apart from umpteen other romantic comedies, it is good. It doesn’t speak down to the audience, the story is engaging, the characters root-able. It’s funny. It’s romantic. It’s corny with a generous side-serving of cheese.

This review was submitted by a member of the Pegasus News community

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