Blue Blog

Review Summary

A smear of petroleum jelly might have done wonders for “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past,” a junky-looking romantic comedy that’s neither remotely romantic nor passably comic. An old trick used to soften facial lines, greasing a lens or filter can diffuse the image and, much like candlelight, bring a touch of glamour to a scene. And if ever a movie needed to have its hard lines eased with some cheap glamour, it’s this one: a crude gloss on Dickens’s “Christmas Carol,” it tracks a high-flying photographer who, on the eve of his brother’s marriage, is forced by several ghosts to revisit a life dedicated to sexual catch and release. Matthew McConaughey, flashing choppers so blindingly white that he could light his own premiere, plays Connor Mead, one of those rom-com roués whose itchy libidos hide the usual sensitive soul. He’s a cad — he breaks up with three women simultaneously during a video conference — but, really, he’s just heartbroken and waiting for the right woman to help him heal. — Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

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