Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

This hit-and-miss take on A Christmas Carol stars Matthew McConaughey as fashion photographer Connor Mead, a Scrooge-like bachelor whose cynical belief that love is "a magical crutch for the weak and uneducated" wreaks havoc when he attends his younger brother's wedding. As with the Charles Dickens classic, Mead is visited by ghosts of his past, present and future, as well as his tacky playboy role model Uncle Wayne (an awkward comic turn by Michael Douglas). Their mission is to make the commitment-phobic lothario face up to his mistakes and to admit that he still loves childhood sweetheart Jenny (Jennifer Garner, who provides a credible emotional centre amid the more knockabout romantic comedy elements). Like previous movies from director Mark Waters (Freaky Friday, Mean Girls), this is undemanding but watchable fare that spells its message in big letters while throwing out a few crumbs of wisdom along the way.