Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, and Michael Douglas

I am not a McConaughey fan, not by any stretch of the imagination.  However, there have been a few films that he acted in that I enjoyed.  Films like, Contact, A Time to Kill, Sahara, Tropic Thunder, Edtv, and Angels in the Outfield.  For Ms. Garner, well, I have been a fan of hers since she was on Felicity, so you can understand my desire to watch this one.

If you can recall the previews, this is basically "A Christmas Carol" with girlfriends, instead of Christmases.  It's an obvious allusion, and they make no apologies about it.  They even acknowledge it fully at various points in the film.  Still, it wasn't as annoying as you would think, and it turned out to be an interesting device to use on the main character.

The strength in the film, for me, lies with Jennifer Garner's performance.  She seemed to present the most range and emotion in the film, and her character is the one you connect with the most.  McConaughey's character, the womanizing playboy, is not relatable, but rather stereo typical and what you would expect.  I will say that in some key scenes, he was able to convey the proper amount of feeling that was needed.  Still, for the majority of the movie, he was simply being himself (or an exaggeration of himself).  Whereas that may have worked for Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler, it did not work in the same way here.

The supporting cast is good also.  Michael Douglas plays the deceased uncle who returns to show McConaughey the error or his ways.  Breckin Meyer plays the little brother who is getting married that prompts this whole trip of self discovery, and Lacey Chabert plays his bride to be.  All good performances supporting a solid story, which was adapted from an awesome story.

Overall, it's a feel good movie with quite a bit of humor and the standard moral message you would expect.  There is a reason I rented it instead of seeing it in theater, and if you're looking for a light film that you can have on in the background, this would do it.  It would also serve the purpose of looking at the beautiful Ms. Garner quite a bit, you know, if that's what you want too.  So long for now.