Cast: Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, Eric Dane, Kathleen Turner, Alan Arkin; Director: David Frankel; Producers: Gil Netter, Karen Rosenfelt; Screenwriters: Scoot Frank, Don Roos; Music: Theodore Shapiro; Editor: Mark Livolsi; Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance; Cinematography: Florian Ballhaus; Distributor: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation; Location: Florida, USA; Running Time: 115min.Technical Assessment: 3
Moral Assessment: 3.5
CINEMA Rating: For viewers 14 and above
John and Jennifer Grogan (Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston) are a journalist couple who leave the veritable ice-box Michigan for sun-drenched West Palm Beach , Florida . Both immediately find employment at the South Florida Sun Sentinel, but Jennifer seems desirous of starting a family, and so they try for a baby. Doubting his preparedness for family life then, John seeks the advice of his womanizing reporter friend, Sebastian (Eric Dane), who then suggests the couple get a puppy to more or less satisfy for the meantime Jenny’s maternal instincts. They buy a cute little Labrador, Marley, the cheapest in a bunch of puppies at a clearance sale. Soon Jenny gets pregnant—but loses the child. Meanwhile, Marley grows into a 100-pound canine that, although lovable, has a rather uncontrollable appetite for destroying or eating anything he fancies. In fact, Marley flunks obedience school, but he continues to inspire John in his column writing for the newspaper. Jenny gets pregnant again, and finally gives birth to a son; then , a devoted mother, gets pregnant again—and again—until she reaches saturation point about the destructive dog and gives John the ultimatum: either Marley goes or she leaves him.
There’s a real life John and Jennifer Grogan—and Marley, too. Marley and Me is an adaptation of a best seller written by John Grogan, practically condensing into two hours 13 years’ worth of real life experience. Aniston and Wilson display good chemistry as the devoted couple, engaging and believable and with a worldview so compassionate it can embrace a hyperactive dog while going through the vicissitudes of family life. Director David Frankel makes sure this “dog movie” goes beyond the stereotype featuring the cute and cuddly canine, while scriptwriters Scott Frank and Don Roos manage to make the story at turns funny and moving but free of melodrama. It’s impossible to sleep through this movie where nearly every scene has a dog in it, and if you’re observant you’ll notice it’s not just one dog actor playing Marley—it took 22 look alikes to play the Labrador’s title role.
Marley and Me is a strong and positive affirmation of parenthood, family and marriage, something that seems providential, coming in the midst of an abortion-favoring Obama leadership. The movie’s family- and life-supporting statement comes subtly and naturally as the story unfolds, not at all sounding like a pro-life spiel, thus making it a most effective yes-vote for the glories of parenthood and marriage. Although Marley and Me seems wholesome enough to merit a GP rating, the movie contains some material not fit for young children, particularly John and Jenny’s too lenient attitude towards pet-handling. Marley is a virtual beast that cannot be trained or restrained, endangering human lives and property. Indeed, at times the viewer may wonder whether the dog here is a pet or a master. Perhaps the director and the writers did not mean to, but the movie seems to say that if people can be that kind to and tolerant of a rambunctious pet, they could be heroic as parents understanding their children’s quirks. CINEMA doesn’t want to be a killjoy, but still there’s a follow up question: if they won’t train a dog to obey, how could they discipline their children?
