Apparently white teeth and taut abs are enough for a career in show business.  How else to explain the continued presence of Matthew McConaughey in one disaster picture after another?  The latest, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, just out on DVD, fits the pattern.

    By disaster pictures, of course, I mean romantic comedies that aren’t romantic, funny or anything approaching clever.  Does Fool’s Gold and How to Lose a  Guy in Ten Days ring a bell?  These films even made cutie pie Kate Hudson look bad.

    Now it’s Jennifer Garner’s turn. Thank goodness she has a working husband.   McConaughey plays Connor Mead, a top fashion photographer who at one point in history might have been referred to as a Lothario or scoundrel.  In these simpler times, we just call him an a--hole.

    Connor’s parents died in automobile accident when he very young.  This, presumably, is the filmmaker’s explanation for why he is averse to permanent relationships.  Connor arrives at the mansion of his late Uncle Wayne (Michael Douglas) where he and brother Paul (Brecken Meyer) were raised.  He comes with advice for his sibling: Don’t do it!

    That puts a damper on the festivities sunsequently enlivened only by the presence of Jenny Perotti (Garner), a childhood friend who gave him his first camera.  They’ve met periodically over the last few years, drawn close, but ultimately parted when Connor did something stupid.

    Here at Wayne Manse things will be different.  How do we know this? We’ve seen McConaughey in this film before.  The question is how do we get them together.

    Simple.  Rip off A Christmas Carol.  Uncle Wayne (wearing glasses last worn by Robert Evans) was a rogue in his day and taught Connor much of his technique.  But now -- a tad late --he regrets his life choices and urges Connor to change his ways.

    To help him along, the ghosts of girlfriends past escort him on a journey to his many mistakes.  He relents and, well, why spoil the “surprise” ending for you.   ★★☆☆☆ -- Curt Schleier

    Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is available in DVD ($23.95 SRP) and Blue-ray $29.95.

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