Marley & Me Movie Review

The PG rated Marley & Me starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston looked to be a great family movie. With co-stars Eric Dane, Alan Arkin and Kathleen Turner I was sure it would be a hit. This is a high energy film with the dog, Marley, stealing most of the scenes. Marley is not only loveable but downright adorable and exceptionally disobedient. Once again Hollywood left me feeling sour and downright angry. I left the movie theater feeling this way another time past, after viewing Bridge to Terabithia. This review will be a spoiler for those that have not yet seen Marley & Me so consider your self warned. If you do plan to see this film, do not continue reading this article.

Marley & Me is the story of John Grogan played by Owen Wilson and his new bride Jenny played by Jennifer Aniston, both reporters with rivaling newspapers. The story unfolds as John and Jenny settle into married life. As with any couple after a few years Jenny starts feeling the motherhood pangs. While discussing this with a friend John receives the advice "Get her a puppy". Thus Marley comes into the picture. Carefree and rambunctious Marley definitely steals the scenes in this fun movie. Children and adults alike will fall in love with Marley as he chews his way into the viewers and the Grogan's hearts. As Marley grows up the dogs used to portray the mischievous dog have a seamless feel in the film. From puppy to adult to senior dog their is never any doubt that this is indeed the same dog clear throughout the picture, which of course in fact is far from the truth. It took 22 dogs to portray the Marley all viewers will come to love. With approximately 65% of the movie taking place when Marley is in the 1-6 year age range, eleven of the 22 canines used were puppies. With scenes shot out of sequence as they often are many times one puppy used to shoot a scene could not be used again as the puppy would grow too much in the sometimes as much as 2 week time span in between scenes. The Grogans' do eventually have children, three to be exact. This viewer is sure the set must have been crazy at times with several infants, children and all of the dogs vying for attention.

I found the rapport between Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston to be excellent. Their interactions with each other made them believable in their respective characters. A touchy scene with Jennifer expecting a lifeless fetus was done delicately and with taste, however, with several scenes calling for tears Owen seemed to produce none. This was noticeable several times to this viewer. A fan of Owen Wilson I found his distressed scenes not as believable as they could have been. It felt almost as if he were trying to be sad but just couldn't pull it off. I can however attribute this to possibly a statement of the strong will of the character John Grogan.

Hollywood again produced a wonderful family film with an unexpected life lesson thrown in. The real world seems stressful enough as it is; with the war efforts and the economy shot I find infrequent trips to the theater to be a way of forgetting real life for just a moment, a short getaway from it all. I like to take my granddaughter to a movie several times a year as a treat. As in the past with our venture to the movie theater to see Bridge to Terabithia we both left the theater teary eyed and saddened. In Bridge to Terabithia one of the main child character's dies. A lesson is unsuspectedly taught to the audience, several lessons. Marley & Me provided the same. Not only did I have to field questions about babies dieing in the mothers womb but I also had to console my granddaughter, age 9, over the death of Marley. ("Why do babies die in their mommy's bellies grandma?" "How do they get the dead baby out?" "Is the dog really dead grandma?" "Do vets really kill people's dog's grandma?")

Yes, the main character in this movie, being Marley the loveable dog, dies. As in real life pets do age and die but this movie seems to take the event of Marley's death to the extreme. Not only is the idea of Marley aging and dying brought about but the viewers witness the veterinarian giving Marley that last injection while John Grogan lovingly speaks to and apologizes to this beloved pet. Throughout the movie Marley is called a bad dog and at this scene, this often real life sad event, John assures Marley he was not only a good dog but the best dog. Tears welled from many movie goers' eyes, both children's and adults alike. Oh but they don't just end it there, next they shoot the burial scene. A tear jerker if ever there was, the viewer watches as Marley is buried and each of the Grogan family members gives a gift of sorts to Marley as his blanket covered body is layed to rest. One movie goer even spoke out loud, "Well at least the dog is covered".

Marley & Me is a wonderful movie if you love a crying out loud tear jerker with a lot of comedy and romance intermingled. It is also good if you wish to take your children to a "life's lessons/this is reality get over it" type of movie. If you have a sensitive child or are sensitive yourself and looking for a short respite from life's worries I do not recommend seeing Marley & Me. After seeing Bridge to Tarabithia I vowed never to take my granddaughter to another movie before googling it first. I failed to do this, I failed her. Or, did Hollywood once again fail me by taking what could have been and should have been a fun family comedy and turn it into a sad tear jerker of a story? I don't know as I never read the book, maybe I should have before seeing the film.