| Ghosts of Girlfriends Past | |
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Promotional film poster |
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| Directed by | Mark Waters |
| Produced by | Brad Epstein Jonathan Shestack Marcus Viscidi |
| Written by | Jon Lucas Scott Moore |
| Starring | Matthew McConaughey Jennifer Garner Breckin Meyer Lacey Chabert Robert Forster Anne Archer Emma Stone Michael Douglas |
| Music by | Rolfe Kent |
| Cinematography | Daryn Okada |
| Editing by | Bruce Green |
| Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
| Release date(s) | May 1, 2009 |
| Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $102,223,269[1] |
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is a 2009 American romantic comedy film whose plot is based loosely on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Mark Waters directed a script by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. Filming spanned February 19, 2008 to July 2008 in Massachusetts with stars Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner and Lacey Chabert. The film was released on May 1, 2009.[2]
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past features a wedding day and the day before, rather than the familiar Christmas and Christmas Eve from A Christmas Carol. The three ghosts share similar appearances with the original descriptions, and the film shares the traditional plot points from the book.
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Connor Mead (McConaughey), a professional photographer and womanizing bachelor, returns to his family's estate for the wedding of his brother Paul (Breckin Meyer) to Sandra Volkom (Lacey Chabert). There he encounters Jenny Perotti (Garner), a former girlfriend and childhood sweetheart who is serving as wedding planner. Connor offends most of the guests by declaring his disdain for romance and marriage and attempting to convince Paul not to go through with the wedding. That evening, he is visited by the ghost of Wayne Mead (Michael Douglas), his uncle who raised him after his parents' death in a car accident and mentored him in the ways of womanizing. Wayne tells Connor that he will be visited by three ghosts that night and will learn something important about himself.
The first ghost to visit Connor is the "Ghost of Girlfriends Past" in the form of Allison Vandermeersh (Emma Stone), one of his high school girlfriends and his first lover. Together, they revisit scenes from his past, focusing on his relationship with Jenny. Connor and Jenny were very close as children; she gave him his first instant camera which he used to take her picture, promising to keep it forever. By middle school, the two were on the verge of romance, but Connor's hesitation at a dance caused Jenny to dance with and kiss another boy. Heartbroken, Connor was told by Wayne that he must avoid romance at all costs in order not to feel such pain again. For the next two years, Wayne schooled Connor in the art of seduction. When he next saw Jenny, at a high school party, Connor ignored her and had sex with Allison. Several years later, as adults, Connor and Jenny rekindled their romance, but Jenny forced him to woo her for several weeks in an attempt to rid him of his womanizing ways. After they finally did have sex, Connor falls in love with her, but then panics, running out on her so he won't be hurt. Jenny wakes up alone and broken-hearted. His relationships thereafter consisted of a series of very short flings.
Awakening back in the Mead mansion in the present, Connor accidentally destroys Paul and Sandra's wedding cake and unsuccessfully attempts to reconcile with Jenny. As he storms out of the house, he is confronted by the "Ghost of Girlfriends Present" in the form of his assistant Melanie (Noureen DeWulf), the only constant female figure in his life. With her, he sees that in his absence the other wedding guests make fun of him and his shallow lifestyle. Paul stands up for his brother, recalling that Connor helped to raise him after their parents' death, and expresses his hope that Connor will someday change for the better. Connor also sees that Jenny is being comforted by Brad (Daniel Sunjata), and is upset that his own actions and attitude are bringing the two closer. He is further upset to discover that Melanie and the three women who he previously broke up with via conference call are bonding over his disregard for their feelings.
Returning to the house, Connor finds Sandra furious at learning that Paul had slept with one of her bridesmaids very early in their relationship, information that Connor had let slip earlier in the evening. Connor attempts to mend the situation but only makes things worse, and Paul tells him to leave. On his way out, he is confronted by the "Ghost of Girlfriends Future" (Olga Maliouk), who takes him forward in time to see that Jenny marries Brad while Paul remains alone. Further in the future, Paul is the only mourner at Connor's funeral. Wayne appears and tells Connor that this is his future if he continues on the same path, pushing him into the grave to be buried by his many ex-girlfriends.
Connor awakens in the Mead home and learns that Sandra has called off the wedding and is on her way to the airport. He intercepts the bridal party by driving Wayne's classic car down the snow-covered hill and into a lake, and convinces Sandra to forgive Paul by sharing lessons learned from his own mistakes, particularly that the pain of heartbreak is outweighed by the regret of never risking one's heart in the first place. Connor helps Jenny to pull the wedding back together and reconciles with her afterward by showing her the picture he still carries of her as a child, and promises to always be there when she wakes up. The two kiss and dance in the snow.
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past was originally set up at Touchstone Pictures with Ben Affleck attached to play the lead character, but he opted out of the movie.[6] It was primarily filmed at Castle Hill in Ipswich, Massachusetts.[7] The film was also the first pairing of Michael Douglas and Anne Archer since the 1987 hit thriller Fatal Attraction, although they shared no scenes together. Jennifer Garner and Christa B. Allen again appear together for the first time since 13 Going on 30 in 2004, and they again play the older and younger versions of the same character.
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past was cast by veteran Hollywood casting director Marci Liroff.
As of January 2011, the film received negative reviews and holds a 27% rating on the website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 136 reviews."[8] Metacritic lists it with a 34 out of 100, which indicates "generally negative reviews", based on 29 reviews.[9]
On the film's opening weekend, it debuted at #2 with a gross of $15,411,434 (3,175 theaters, $4,854 average), far behind X-Men Origins: Wolverine's $85,085,003 gross.[10] The film made $55,250,026 in the United States and Canada and has a worldwide total of $102,223,269.[1]
The film was released on DVD on September 22, 2009.[11]
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