DIRECTOR: Mark Waters

CAST: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Michael Douglas

RATING: 2 stars

In Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Connor played by McConaughey asks: “When did casual sex become a crime?” Whenever indeed? There was a time when a hot-shot, sexy fashion photographer like Connor, with models throwing themselves at him, would be flitting from one woman to another, but not considered the worst for it. He would ultimately fall for one woman who hated his guts, and the others would sigh but wish him well. No more.

Now Connor is dragged through the dirt, reviled, insulted, abused, made to apologise, thrown out of his brother’s wedding, even pushed into a grave, for doing with his sexual contests no more than what he promises to (except perhaps break up with them over a conference call). The women don’t share any of the blame, and aren’t even mentioned, except as ghosts who remind him of all the wrongs he has done. And then Uncle Wayne (Douglas), a celebrated womaniser of his own time, returns from the grave to warn Connor of what his end could be like.

A nice actor, McConaughey’s share of good roles has been shrinking and shrinking. But this one uses all that he is good at to make the worst of him.