Truth be told--I am not really an animal person...That said if I had to choose a favorite--it would definitely be a dog over a cat...And I would prefer a canine who I knew would grow pretty big as opposed to a smaller--what I call yippie dog...Whatever your preference though--It's hard not like this flick overall.
Based upon John Grogan's book the movie recounts the true story of the relationship between "The World's Worst Dog" and his unsuspecting owners.
John (Owen Wilson) decides to surprise his wife Jen (Jennifer Aniston) by buying a lab puppy that he names Marley after singer Bob Marley. When he takes the little guy home he soon discovers the fluff ball has lots of energy and an uncanny knack for eating and or destroying just about anything in his path.
As years pass, the couple consider having babies and moving across the country to further careers in the newspaper biz--all the while Marley grows into a 100 lbs unpredictable.-and an important members of the family.
The chemistry between Wilson and Aniston is very strong and helps to further enliven the film...Even though, of course, we in the audience know the animals that play Marley are rhe real stars of the picture....
Eric Dane, who plays John's pal and co-worker Sebastian and Alan Arkin as John's boss at the Sun-Sentinel Arnie Klein provide solid back-up
It's also great to see 80's icon Kathleen Turner on screen again playing the role of exasperated dog trainer Ms. Kornblut--even if it's ever so briefly.
Director David Frankel keeps things moving at a nice pace from a script by Scott Frank and Don Roos... Until the ending.
Indeed my only issue with the film its rather drawn out conclusion as the filmmakers surely wanted to manipulate the audience every second they could with every emotional tug...
That aside. Dog lovers will lap this one up...While non dog owners should find the 2 human stars appealing to watch.
Marley and Me is money to a great extent because Jennifer Aniston is money; Owen Wilson is... not so much
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