DVD SNAPSHOT

Blu-ray Review

Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past

Official Synopsis:

At a family wedding, a love-'em and live-'em ladies man gets a ghostly comedy wake-up call for his romantic wrongdoings via many Ghost Of Girlfriends Past. Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, and Michael Douglas star.

Our Take:

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is a perfectly enjoyable date night movie. It's an utterly predictable romantic comedy, but it's quite funny and charming and it has a pretty terrific cast. I think the reason it didn't do very well at the box office, however, is because it was marketed so poorly. For one thing, while it's not really a Christmas-themed movie, it is a take-off of sorts on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. It takes place in the winter, with snow a constant presence in the film. So why was it released in the middle of the summer box office onslaught? This is the kind of movie I would have wanted to watch on a cold December evening, with the Christmas lights out and a foot of snow on the ground, not while I was gearing up to watch transforming robots and boy wizards.

The other problem is that it was marketed as being a typical Matthew McConaughey rom-com. And on some levels it is, but this isn't really your usual McConaughey character. I think the film wrongly sells it as more of McConaughey doing what he does best. And while he's dashing and handsome and charming, he's also kind of an a-hole. Usually, we get to see the uber-nice guy side of McConaughey in these films; here, he gets a chance to cut loose a bit and really play a guy who just isn't that nice or redeemable. Because of that, the film is much more interesting than just another 90 minutes of McConaughey playing himself. Don't get me wrong, the film's not cinematic genius (although Michael Douglas is a lot of fun to watch), but I think it's a lot better than it was given credit for being.

Audio & Video:

The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past Blu-Ray looks and sounds about as well as you would expect a romantic comedy to look. Color saturation is bright and vibrant and the picture quality is pretty solid with sharp lines and clean details throughout. It doesn’t have that lifelike 3-D image that you get from some of the bigger, slicker films out there, but there are really no complaints about the transfer either. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround soundtrack offers up a pretty solid comedy mix with a few surround channel enhancements, but for the most part the focus of the mix is on the dialogue, which comes through clean and clear. The soundtrack music sounds nice and the .1 LFE channel provides a nice low end on occasion.

Special Features (Blu-ray Exclusive):

A Sea of Women - Accessible via BD-Live

Special Features (Standard):

The Legends, The Lessons, And The Ladies
It's All About Connor
Behind The Scenes
Additional Scenes
Digital Copy Of Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past For Portable Media Players

Conclusion:

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past was a dud at the box office, but it's a perfect film to bring home on a night when you and your significant other want to just sit back, relax, and have a good laugh.

Overall Picture:

Movie: B
Video: A-
Audio: B
Extra Features: B

- Mike Spring
Editor