First Hit: Very predictable from the get go, and even with this at times it was a funny journey.
Matthew McConaughey plays a good looking, charming, sleazy, always gets the girl, photographer named Connor Mead who was raised by his Uncle Wayne (Played by Michael Douglas).
Connor and his brother were young when their parents died and this short burst of information is to have us believe there were no role models. Connor’s closest friend during this childhood was Jenny Perotti (Played by Jennifer Garner) and it was she that gave him his first camera.
In high school, because Connor didn’t have the guts to ask Jenny to dance, Jenny danced with Pete Hastings. Pete kissed Jenny and that crushed Conner’s heart. We are set up to believe that this is what turned Conner into such a cad along with the guidance of Uncle Wayne.
Moving forward into the in current day, during the wedding of his brother, Connor makes an announcement that love is a fantasy invented by weak people. In doing so we glimpse of his previous pain and we know he is about to get his due.
The lesson comes from ghosts who visit him during his brother’s wedding weekend. The first ghost is his Uncle Wayne the king of cads and a very lonely man. The other ghosts are of his past, present and future life and the women in it.
There are possibilities in this film just as there are holes big enough to drive a truck through. McConaughey is perfect as the smarmy smooth talker that talks every girl into bed. He has shown to be a more complex actor and if this film had taken on a different tone he probably would have been good in it. Douglas is reasonable and believable as the mentor and inspiration for McConaughey’s smarmy view of life. Garner is, as always, capable of making me like her in anything she does and she does this here as well. She is just so damn believable.
Overall: If you want something light hearted, with a few laughs, and an afternoon to kill, watching this film will give you a few laughs but probably won’t leave you contemplating your actions towards women or men.