Los fantasmas de mis ex

After being the root cause of his kid brother's wedding being called off, Connor Mead (Matthew McConaughey), a noted womanizer who sees male-female relationships as a strategic game to be enjoyed without becoming ensnared, is visited by the "ghost" of the first girl he ever had sex with. She tells him he will be visited by ghosts of his past, future and present girl friends. These are not ghosts of dead people but possess the shape and memories of the living women.

I found the film to be more enjoyable than I expected it would be. I generally don't care much for Matthew McConaughey films. But he surprised me in this one.

Although generally considered a romantic comedy, it is not a film aiming for laughs. It is a comedy in the sense of not a tragedy, in that it has a happy ending. Instead of funny, the story aims at giving the audience an emotional response.

For a rom-com, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is as dramatic as it could be, more Dickens than Apatow. Matthew McConaughey as womanizer Connor Mead is type cast as a rake waiting to be changed into a loving human being, The plot with returning dead lovers to teach him a lesson about having feelings is not quite as exotic as it sounds, for it is a device mainly to show him as a callow youth squiring and losing the love of his life, Jenny Perotti (Jennifer Garner). The drama is the disaster he makes of his brother's wedding and the tears he witnesses from the women he has seduced and left.

Since we all know enjoying casual sex is a no-no for descendants of Puritans, the outcome of the ghostly apparitions' lessons is secure in cliché land. Following the party line about scoundrels getting what they deserve is ghost of Uncle Wayne, a sort of Gordon Gekko gone good, an oily ex-Lothario played with relish by another spot-on bit of casting, Michael Douglas. His flowing hair and Hollywood-tinted big glasses call to mind producer Robert Evans (The Kid Stays in the Picture). Although Uncle Wayne is a recovered womanizer, at least for now, his speeches about loneliness and broken hearts ring true only for the moment, but long enough to affect the hero.

It's an enjoyable film with a smart cast, a preposterous story but a serious message about true love and selflessness. Not quite a romantic comedy, but very close indeed.

This movie has a great story line, less than 6/10 seems kind of unfair. Michael Douglas did an amazing job as Uncle Wayne, and is constantly cited by my friend for his wits. I think most of Jennifer Garner's movies are underrated actually. Fools Gold with Mathew and Daredevil with Jennifer Garner are also pretty underrated also.

So is it an original concept? Of course not! But nothing is anymore in Hollywood. They've all been done. A talking mouse, dozens of them. A movie with a turd in it. So get real! The story is all right and the movie has heart felt moments. It's an above average rom-com. 5.8?...go do your own movie so everyone else can shoot it to smithereens.

I payed my money and saw this movie expecting a laugh and to leave with a smile on my face. I wasn't expecting Oscar acting, a great storyline or something that would leave a lasting impression on me.

The performances were good, I especially enjoyed Michael Douglas's glam OTT character. The main actors also impressed and I was drawn into their romance as the film went on. So much so that I shed a little tear at the end.

When I left the cinema I was smiling and during the movie I laughed out loud along

with many other people. I got what I paid for and had a good night.