Celebrity photographer Connor Mead (MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY) loves freedom, fun and women…in that order.  A committed bachelor with a no-strings policy, he thinks nothing of breaking up with multiple women on a conference call while prepping his next date. 
Connor's brother Paul is more the romantic type.  In fact, he's about to be married.  Unfortunately, on the eve of the big event, Connor's mockery of romance proves a real buzz-kill for Paul, the wedding party and a houseful of well wishers--including Connor's childhood friend Jenny (JENNIFER GARNER), the one woman in his life who has always seemed immune to his considerable charm. 
Just when it looks like Connor may single-handedly ruin the wedding, he gets a wake-up call from the ghost of his late Uncle Wayne (MICHAEL DOUGLAS), the hard-partying, legendary ladies man upon whose exploits Connor has modeled his lifestyle.  Uncle Wayne has an urgent message for his protégé, which he delivers through the ghosts of Connor's jilted girlfriends--past, present and future--who take him on a revealing and hilarious odyssey through a lifetime of failed relationships. 
Together, they will discover what turned Connor into such a shameless player and whether he has a second chance to find - and this time, keep - the love of his life.

Probably Not the Best Man to Pick As Your "Best Man," Even If He Is Your Only Brother
The last place on earth anyone would expect to find Connor Mead would be at a wedding.  More to the point, that last place would certainly be his own wedding, although it's tough enough to imagine him overcoming his allergy to matrimony long enough to attend anyone else's big day.  But this is different.  It's his brother's wedding, and for Paulie's sake alone Connor is willing to make the trek from his high-style New York City life to the Newport, Rhode Island home of his childhood, where the ceremony is scheduled to take place at their late Uncle Wayne's lavish estate.   
Connor is expecting to be a little uncomfortable with the festivities, but that's OK; it's just one weekend.  What he is not expecting is how he will feel when he comes face to face with his former flame Jenny Perotti (Jennifer Garner).
"Connor is used to being the confident guy, charming and funny, kind of edgy and always at the top of his game.  He's really not out to hurt anyone, he just wants to have a good time.  But he's also a guy who has lost his way and doesn't know it.  He's been playing this role so long he doesn't even realize that in the end it's a lonely path," says Matthew McConaughey, who stars as the story's perennial bachelor.
"Seeing Jenny again would be his first clue," suggests director Mark Waters.
Beautiful, smart and self-assured, Jenny could have been the best thing that ever happened to Connor… if he hadn't walked out on her years ago.  Now the maid of honor, she is all business when it comes to her ex, determined that nothing--and no one--will mar this special occasion, and that means putting Connor on notice in case he's planning anything that would take the focus off the happy couple.
"Having experienced the Connor Mead treatment, Jenny has no patience for him," states Jennifer Garner.  "They were best friends as kids and really meant something to each other, then reconnected and dated as adults but, by then, he was well on his way to becoming a world-class playboy and totally disappointed her.  He nearly ruined her faith in men.  When they are reunited at the house there are definitely sparks flying but not necessarily the good kind."   
Waters views Jenny as "a combination of the girl next door and the one who got away, with a touch of something else that Connor can't quite pin down.  There's a rich history between them and the sense that Jenny knows Connor in a way that no other woman ever will.  For all her disappointment in what he has become, she knows the real Connor is better than that; consequently she calls him on his games and puts him in his place.  Matthew and Jennifer really tap into that sparring rhythm and that undercurrent of competition that's a carryover from Connor's and Jenny's childhood together."
"Jenny is the kind of woman we all hope to have in our lives, someone who sees us for who we really are and can bring out the best in us," says producer Jon Shestack, who credits Garner with giving Jenny "the vulnerability and intelligence that conveys, despite her sharp words, the sadness she feels for Connor and how empty his life has become.  While it would be difficult to convince anyone who knows him that Connor Mead does, in fact, have an essential sweetness, deep-down, Jenny believes he does and she continues to look for it, despite everything he does to prove her wrong."
But that sweetness, if it's still there, is buried mighty deep. 
On the evening of the rehearsal dinner, Connor is pressed into delivering a toast.  Out of his element, rattled by the sight of Jenny, feeling hemmed in by a house full of white tulle and flowers and emboldened by too many trips to the bar, he spews forth a predictable but no less appalling speech denouncing marriage and everything it stands for.  He then beats a hasty retreat in typical Connor fashion before anyone at the table can take a swing at him--the top contenders being the bride-to-be, her father, Jenny, and possibly even Paul, who is beginning to rethink his brother's invitation. 
While it's anyone's guess as to how much of that rhetoric Connor truly believes, or why, producer Brad Epstein notes, "For all his popularity and success, he is completely shut down emotionally.  Afraid of love.  He could have the greatest thing in the world in front of him but he's not going to see it.  He can't see the forest through the trees." 
Adds Waters, hinting of the action ahead, "Here's a guy who is blissfully unaware of the vacuous nature of his existence and in dire need of a cosmic wake-up call.  In that respect, 'Ghosts of Girlfriends Past' is more than a romantic comedy.  It's kind of a magical comeuppance romantic comedy."
If Connor has any hope of a meaningful future, he'll need to relive the past.  But it's going to be a bumpy ride.  And he's going to need some special help.

Pay Attention, Kid.  I Came a Long Way to Be Here.
Escaping the ire of the wedding party for the peace and privacy of the guest bathroom, Conner is grateful for a minute to himself.  He needs to take a breath and recalibrate his cool.  This weekend is going to be tougher than he imagined. 
Suddenly, between the sink and the…facilities, stands the ghost of Uncle Wayne.
The idol of Connor's formative years, Wayne still looks as sharp as ever, if a little outdated.  Portrayed by Michael Douglas, he is still the epitome of the fast-living playboy of a certain swinging era--complete with velvet jacket and artfully tied ascot at his open collar, not to mention the indoor shades and the requisite scotch and cigar. 
Says Waters, "Michael Douglas struck the perfect note, giving the ol' scoundrel the kind of swagger that owns a room and a charm that makes you think he could get away with doing or saying pretty much anything.  Wayne is a sentimental throwback; the eternal player, eternally cool.  I felt Michael could make him likeable, just as I felt that Matthew could make Connor likeable even though they're two of the most politically incorrect roles in recent memory.  They let you see the heart underneath.  Although, I think in Wayne's case you'd have to look especially hard."
Of course, Uncle Wayne is no longer the life of the party.  He's been dead for five years.  But he is crashing this wedding at his old bachelor pad in spirit form because he has a very important message for his #1 nephew, the boy who so admired him that he dedicated himself to being exactly like him.  It's a message Connor would never expect and doesn't particularly want to hear:  "Don't waste your life the way I did, kid."   
Douglas explains. "Uncle Wayne taught Connor everything bad he ever learned about relationships, which was, essentially, not to care for any woman, to just have a good time and move on.  It was the way Wayne conducted his own life, but, at the time, it was also intended to protect Connor from getting his heart broken.
"Seeing Wayne now," Douglas continues, "you get the sense that he didn't really want to end up the way he did.  He realizes the mistakes he made in his life and is trying to save Connor from repeating them."  Consequently, he's trying to effect some retroactive parenting with this last-ditch effort to point him in a better direction.  But he's going to need some powerful help, and he's smart enough to enlist that help in a form to which Connor is most likely to pay attention: female. 
Previewing the tumultuous hours ahead, Uncle Wayne warns Connor that he is about to be dragged through the romantic wreckage of his life by the spirits of the women who know him best, representing his girlfriends of the past, the present and the potentially terrifying future, to see if he can earn a second chance at finding--and keeping--the love of his life. 

What If You Could Relive Your Past, Listen In On the Present, and Change the Future?
First up, fresh out of the 1980s, with her denim-and-lace ensemble and hair out to there, is 16-year-old Allison Vandermeersh, aka The Ghost of Girlfriends Past, played by Emma Stone.  She whisks Conner back in time to when he was an earnest, sweet boy who wore his heart on his sleeve and called Jenny Perotti his best friend.  Together, Allison and the adult Connor revisit the humiliation of a very significant junior high slow-dance and then skid through one wrong turn after another that put him on the road to becoming the infamous Connor Mead. 
Cast on the strength of her comical but touching performance in "Superbad," Stone enjoyed pulling out all the stops as Allison, whom she calls "a firecracker. Allison is essentially a kind of hallucination, permanently stuck in the exact moment when she first crossed paths with Connor, meaning she's still in that crazy 16-year-old state and very excitable."   
Next, to shine a light on more recent events, is Connor's assistant Melanie, played by Noureen DeWulf.  Though technically not a girlfriend, Melanie appears as The Ghost of Girlfriends Present by virtue of the fact that she's the only consistent relationship Connor currently has with a woman.  Says DeWulf, "She's not exactly thrilled with the assignment.  He already works her way too much and now she has to freelance for him on the weekend as a ghost?  It's so typical."  The upside for Melanie is that during these sequences their working relationship is reversed so that she's the boss.  She takes the weary but increasingly self-aware bachelor through the walls of some New York City apartments to see what really happens on the other end of the phone after he says goodbye. 
But the scariest, by far, is The Ghost of Girlfriends Future, a silent ethereal beauty played by Olga Maliouk, who offers Connor a glimpse into what his life will become if he continues to reject real love.
"The ghost element was a great device for introducing the time traveling, and it really opened up the storytelling potential," says McConaughey, who literally threw himself into the slapstick possibilities of some of his scenes.  "There's more freedom when you step outside the real world, there's more room for playfulness and, in a weird way, honesty.  Mark and I kept finding new ways to work with it."
As for the logistics of what Waters calls "Ghost Rules," that's a question he has considered before, having negotiated the romance between a man and a ghostly woman in the 2005 comedy "Just Like Heaven."  "Sometimes actors will be concerned about details like whether or not seat cushions should visibly depress when they're supposed to be sitting and my response is, 'It doesn't matter. It's Ghost Rules.'  I feel that once the audience accepts the theatrical conceit that there are characters in play that cannot be seen or heard by everyone, they understand what you're doing and they go with it.  With a story like this, it's not about the effects; it's about Connor's journey and his being present in all these revealing scenarios." 
"In his initial ghost encounters, Connor is trying to be seen and to stop things from happening but he's powerless.  Then, gradually, he stops trying to affect things physically because he realizes it's not only useless, it's dangerous and painful," says McConaughey.   
It also makes for moments of delicious counterpoint, notes the director, as when Connor is forced to witness a sweet scene unfold between Jenny and her unexpected new suitor Brad, in the Mead Mansion kitchen. "It's like two different stories running simultaneously.  On the one hand, it's a classic romantic scene being played out by Jenny and Brad as they get to know each other, but at the same time there's the disembodied Connor standing by, thinking 'this is a nightmare, I'm bringing them together.'"
Garner agrees. "Connor is having a different experience than the rest of the wedding guests.  We're just at this weekend celebration wondering what's wrong with him and he keeps getting crazier and crazier as the movie goes on."

The Wedding Party
In contrast to Connor and Jenny, Paul and his fiancée Sandra are the picture-perfect couple, "a match made in heaven," says Breckin Meyer, who stars as the groom-to-be.  "Paul is made for monogamy.  He believes in love.  He really wants to be with Sandra for the rest of his life.  As it turns out, the only family he has on his guest list is Connor, and that's the one person who really shouldn't be at a wedding."
"Paul provides an interesting contrast to Connor. Initially, he's the heart to Connor's lothario. At first glance they appear to have nothing in common but their similarities and their connection as brothers emerge as the story develops," suggests screenwriter Jon Lucas, whose credits with writing partner Scott Moore include the holiday hit "Four Christmases" and the upcoming comedy "The Hangover."
"It's a hint of Connor's humanity and potential when you see how much he loves his brother," adds Moore.  "If he's capable of committing to that wholeheartedly and if someone as decent as Paul supports him, well, maybe he's not such a lost cause."
But it's not easy.  Paul steadfastly defends his brother's behavior for as long as he can and then reaches a point where he can't justify it a minute longer. As Meyer inventories the damage, "Connor can't stop sniping about marriage, he destroys the cake, he flirts with Paul's future mother-in-law, and he even lets certain information slip out that could very well call off the wedding."
If Paul's damage control skills are strained to the breaking point with Connor, his general keeping-the-peace skills are equally challenged by trying to prevent Sandra from having a meltdown before she walks down the aisle. 
"Mean Girls" alum Lacey Chabert, who stars as Sandra, claims "She's not teetering on the brink of Bridezilla for the sake of being difficult.  She's really a nice girl, just emotional and under pressure.  She's been planning this wedding since she was four years old and wants everything to be perfect.  For Paul's sake, she's glad his only brother can be there, but from the instant Connor arrives she knows he's going to be trouble."
In Sandra's corner is Sarge--Sergeant Major Volkom, U.S. Marine Corps, Retired, that is, portrayed by Robert Forster.  Not only is he the father of the bride, he is also officiating as minister at 15:30 hours.  Not a man to mess with.  Meyer quips, "A father-in-law you have to respect is one thing; a father-in-law you have to salute is terrifying."
"The Sarge is incredibly soft and sweet with his little Sandra, but you know he's prepared to break Connor's neck if he goes too far," Waters attests.  "All it takes is a look from Forster and you know what he's thinking… and it's not good."
The actor, best known for his dramatic work, relished the opportunity to create some fun with Sarge, whom he describes as "a hard case ex-military who is now an ordained minister.  He has a huge stake in this wedding.  When Connor comes in and raises a ruckus he goes into battle mode because once you're a soldier you're always a soldier and when you're a dad you'll do anything to keep your daughter from harm."
Starring as Sarge's former better half, Vonda, is Anne Archer.  Dressed to impress and fully liberated, Vonda has a provocatively frank exchange at the bar with Connor in which she reveals a certain empathy for his views on "antiquated" social customs like marriage--with one vital exception.  Unlike Connor, she acknowledges the value of love.   
Says Archer, "She's definitely a femme fatale, the kind of woman who feels sexy at any age, which is something you still don't see very often in films and is really refreshing.  Nothing stuffy or old-fashioned about this mother-of-the-bride.  She's intelligent and has a wicked sense of humor.  She's wise about life and isn't there to censor anyone else."
Though Sandra's wedding brings Vonda and Sarge together for the first time since their divorce, the question remains as to whether or not the pair will put aside their no-speaking policy long enough to share in their daughter's happiness. 
Rounding out the main cast is Daniel Sunjata ("The Devil Wears Prada") as the eminently eligible Brad, a perfect anti-Connor type whom Sandra hopes to match with Jenny; plus Camille Guaty (TV's "Las Vegas"), Rachel Boston (TV's "The Ex List") and Amanda Walsh (TV's "Sons & Daughters") who keep up a lively pace as bridesmaids Donna, Deena and Denice, eager for some action to get their money's worth out of all those pre-wedding spa treatments. 
Singer-songwriter and actress Christina Milian ("Love Don't Cost a Thing") helps to establish Connor's persona in the film's opening scenes by appearing as Kalia, one of his high-profile clients who follows up her photo shoot with some personal re-touching. 

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS 

MARK WATERS (Director/Executive Producer), a graduate of the directing program at the American Film Institute, made his feature film directorial debut on the dark comedy indie hit "The House of Yes."  The film premiered at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival, where Parker Posey won a Special Jury Prize for her performance.
Waters' next projects were the romantic comedy "Head Over Heels" and the   VH-1 original movie "Warning: Parental Advisory."
He then scored with the back-to-back hit comedies "Freaky Friday" and "Mean Girls."  "Freaky Friday," starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan, earned a 2004 Critic's Choice Award nomination for Best Family Film and brought a Golden Globe Award nomination to Jamie Lee Curtis.  "Mean Girls," written by Tina Fey and based on the Rosalind Wiseman book Queen Bees and Wannabees, became one of the most talked-about films of the year and won three MTV Movie Awards, including one for Lindsay Lohan as Best Actress.   Waters followed in 2005 with the fantasy comedy romance "Just Like Heaven," starring Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo.  Last year he directed the acclaimed family adventure "The Spiderwick Chronicles," adapted from the popular children's book series, and, following "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past," he directed the FOX television pilot "Eva Adams."
Waters also recently served as a producer on "500 Days of Summer," starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel.  The offbeat romantic comedy premiered to acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival and is slated for a July 2009 release. 

JON LUCAS & SCOTT MOORE (Screenwriters) most recently teamed on the hit holiday comedy "Four Christmases," starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon. 
Among their upcoming projects is the "The Hangover" for director Todd Phillips, starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, Justin Bartha and Jeffrey Tambor, set for a June 2009 release.

Read more: The Mead Mansion: Hugh Hefner Meets Martha Stewart

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