It’s almost impressive how many stereotypes the filmmakers were able to cram into a two-hour film. There’s the shrieking windbag Sandra (played by Lacey Chabert), sex objects like Denice the Bridesmaid (Amanda Walsh), annoying little girls like the Ghost of Girlfriends Past (Stone), the sexy divorcee who is flattered by her boobs being grabbed without her consent like Vonda Volkom (Anne Archer), and, last but not least, Jenny Perotti (Garner) the “one of the guys” brunette who can’t help but be attracted to male chauvinist pigs. This argument might be convincing if not for the portrayal of the female characters in Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, who run the gamut of degrading stereotypes against women. Related: Jennifer Garner's Best Comedy Movies, Ranked Why should the film itself be held accountable for the beliefs of its protagonist? Especially since McConaughey’s character learns the error of his ways in the end, and that everything Douglas’ character ever taught him about treating women like a slab of meat was actually a bad thing. If Lucas and Moore were inclined to defend the sexism in their screenplay, then that defense would likely argue that Ghosts of Girlfriends Past “deals” with sexism without actually being sexist. It’s the kind of early career role that Stone would never agree to play again. But playing a 1980s teenager with a head full of hairspray and mouth full of braces, there’s really nothing she can do to make the character any less annoying. The first of the three is the titular “Ghost of Girlfriends Past” (played by Emma Stone). The film’s plot is built around Connor Meade (McConaughey) being visited by three ghosts on the night before his brother’s wedding. long line of lovelies waiting Allison Vandermeersh : Oh, you remember Amy, the stewardess Amy the Stewardess : Hey, Connor. So short, in fact, it would be easier to do this in bulk. Related: Best Matthew McConaughey Comedy Movies, Ranked Quotes (1) Photos Quotes Allison Vandermeersh : After Jenny, your relationships grew shorter and shorter. In fact, even famous for it.” That is actual dialogue from the film. Meade is a famous photographer and serial womanizer described by other characters in the script as, “The Great Connor Meade,” and, “the biggest jerk ever. The film’s protagonist Connor Meade (McConaughey), functions as a sexist reimagining of Ebenezer Scrooge. And with Robert Forster’s supporting role as Sergeant Volkom looking uncannily like The General character in White Christmas (1954), Ghosts of Girlfriends Past cannot escape the shadow of Christmas.Īside from removing Christmas, screenwriters Jon Lucas and Scott Moore kept the spine of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol largely intact. The resulting setting is not exactly a far cry from the snowy London streets of A Christmas Carol. Yet, the film takes place in a snowy castle in New England whose interior walls look as though they’ve been stripped of any decorations that might be perceived as Christmasy. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past substituted Dickens’ Christmastime setting with a contemporary wedding, swapping Christmas Eve and Christmas Day out with the day before and the day of Meade's brother’s wedding. But some took offense to the film’s blatant misogyny, which, surprisingly, was not something that screenwriters Jon Lucas and Scott Moore took from their 19th century source material. Upon its release most critics dismissed Ghosts of Girlfriends Past as a cheap Dickens knockoff. I can't believe I'm saying this but, uh, I think you might be right.Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is a loose adaptation of Dickens’ Christmas Carol. And from someone who's felt a lot of both, trust me, pain beats regret every day of the week and twice on Sunday. It doesn't mean that you're never going to get hurt, but the pain you feel will never compare to the regret that comes from walking away from love. You've got to risk love, Sandra! I didn't and look at me! I'm a lonely ghost of a man. And you're making the same mistake right now, and I'll be goddamned if I'm going to sit by and watch. And you know what? It was the biggest mistake I ever made. So I cut it short, before she ever could. What if she hurt me? What if she left me? What if she died? It would have been the end of me. You know what? It scared the hell out of me too. You love Paul so much you forgave him the second you heard, and that's what scares you. And you know why? Because you don't actually care. It was years ago! With some slutty friend of yours! A friend, incidentally, that you're not even mad at. You and Paul have something so rare, so powerful! Don't chicken out now.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |