By any luck, I stumbled upon the abridged version of Christmas Carol with my student some time this year. As I flipped the pages, I thought to myself what a great Charles Dicken's book this was.
Ebenezer Scrooge was a cold hard man. He lived alone and he didn't treat well the only people whom he knew, his nephew and co-worker Bob. The only thing he chased was money. But on Christmas eve, all these were going to change forever. It took dead Marley to tell Scrooge of the heavy chains which could only be loosened by love and generosity. And the ghosts of Past, Present and Future to remind him of the sad childhood he had, a sad life he was going to have if he wasn't going to change.
Ghost of Girlfriends Past is an adaptation of Chrismas Carol with the addition of romantic elements. A casonova, Connor Mead, hitting on women as though they were commodity, and leaving them alone the next morning.
I cried at the scene where Jenny woke up alone without Connor snuggling her the next morning. Jenny cried because she had sincerely believed that Connor would change for her. But he didn't. And Connor left not because he didn't love her, but because he knew he has fallen for her and was afraid that things would not work out. He simply didn't believe in love.
"If there is one thing you learn tonight, it's this. The power in a relationship lies with whoever cares less."
Another touching scene was the one at the Jenny's church wedding. It was heartbreaking for Connor to watch Jenny marrying another man. As he walked down the aisle he saw Paul, his brother without his wedding ring. It dawned upon him that he was the one who broke his marriage up. Connor followed Paul as he walked and aged through the woods. The woods ended at the grave of Connor Mead. As Connor watched his own funeral, he realised his life was empty despite being glamourous.
"Connor Mead was a lot of things to a lot of people, not all of them good things but to me he was a great brother. I guess it's just me against the world now."
I paused for a minute to think of the chains I carry. I truly think that the world is crowded with the wrong values. Love and loyalty have been shallowed down. People call it quits when things are not working well. People don't try hard enough to make relationships work. People don't work hard enough to woo the one they love. And it is certainly not true that what you can't get will be the most precious. The word "love" sends chills to the spine that people don't even have guts to utter it.
"Life, you know, it's like a quick cup of coffee, if you haven't got the guts to love someone, love them with all you've got, then you end up drinking alone."
