a christmas carol + womanizer + aqua velva = ghosts of girlfriends past

yes yes yes... i know there's like 75 reviews i'm skipping here. but in order to get back into the groove here i need to start with something(s) i've seen recently. so shut the hell up and read.

gogp is a nice, fairly funny, brainless chick flick. i should just write one general review for chick flicks and copy and paste it for each one i see. but that would be cheating... but when have i been above cheating? exactly.

bias alert: mcconaughey, garner and douglas are 3 of my favorite actors.

gogp follows the same predictable pattern that all chick flicks follow. the acting was pretty good and the cast was surprisingly well put together. matthew mcconaughey is in his typical womanizer role. jennifer garner is in her typical level-headed sweet, no bullshit independent woman role. their chemistry isn't fantastic but it's there. michael douglas as the perpetual bachelor/commitment-phobe uncle is fantastic. he's a completely believable (which may or may not be a good thing for catherine zeta-jones) and charming asshole, if there is such a thing. lacey chabert was perfect as the (subtly) bitchy bridezilla. and... woah! breckin meyer!?!?! where the fuck have you been the past few years?! the last time i saw you was in clueless/josie and the pussycats/rat race/kate and leopold! good to see you man.

the christmas carol concept was a creative and semi-refreshing breath of air within the genre. it was like taking the semi-scenic route to a familiar location. a nice change but nothing out of your comfort zone.

i also felt that the movie didn't take its self too seriously. the "supernatural" presence of the ghosts kind of made this a necessity. there was a nice balance between funny and serious. the writing was nothing profound and the jokes were kind of predictable. most of the jokes revolved around sex (no issues with me there) which at times made me want to cover the ears of the 2 12 year old boys in the row in front of me. there wasn't anything explicit but i think a rating of pg-15 may have been more appropriate, if there was such a thing (don't get me started on mpaa ratings, please).

overall this was a good choice for killing time with a girlfriend on a boring saturday afternoon.

ghosts of girlfriends past :: b-