Marley And Me is an adaptation of John Grogan's bestselling memoir about an incorrigible Labrador retriever, and stars Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson and Alan Arkin! Marley is the yellow lab adopted by Grogan (Owen Wilson), a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, and his wife. Their idea was to give them a taste of parenthood, but the dog proved to be a hyperactive handful. He wreaks havoc everywhere he goes, gets kicked out of obedience school and gets even worse when the children begin to arrive, yet becomes an indispensable part of the family.
Directed by
David Frankel
Written by
Scott Frank (screenplay); Don Roos (screenplay); John Grogan (book).
Starring
Owen Wilson (John Grogan); Jennifer Aniston (Jennifer Grogan); Eric Dane (Sebastian); Kathleen Turner (Ms. Kornblut); Alan Arkin (Arnie Klein); Nathan Gamble (Patrick (Age 10)); Haley Bennett (Lisa); Clarke Peters (Editor); Finley Jacobsen (Conor (Age 8)); Lucy Merriam (Colleen (Age 5)); Bryce Robinson (Patrick (Age 7)); Benjamin Hyland (Conor (Age 5)); Sarah O'Kelly (Neighbor Mom (Nurse)); Keith Hudson (Big Guy); Haley Hudson (Debby). Please contact SFC to add other cast members and characters.
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A Family Film... for Adults Only!
Mark Banks (United Kingdom)
Opinion: Limited Recommendation
I had high hopes for 'Marley & Me' - a possible addition to my Top-100 family films I thought having read a few reviews beforehand and seen the trailer. Alas, my hopes were dashed by a film that although was funny in parts (some very amusing it must be said), held the strange position of being stuck firmly in the middle of the 'family-comedy' and 'adult drama' genres... making it on the whole not a film that was really suitable for putting on in front of the whole family. There were several things that contributed to this mismatch: the random placement of skimpily dressed women throughout the film, including Jennifer Aniston in some uncharacteristic scenes (though I should say the film doesn't venture into any explicit nudity); a scene regarding John and Jennifer's pregnancy that was a little too mature content for younger viewers to comprehend; and the fighting and squabbles of said couple that ventured a distance beyond anything normally associated with the family genre. So that was quite strange, but not as bad the film's biggest minus, which was the complete (and really quite serious) idolisation of the dog the film takes its title from: 'Marley'. Okay family pets are special, and people may grow particularly attached to a dog that has been in the family for many years, but let's get things in perspective here! - a dog is a dog is a dog... a dog is not a child and shouldn't be treated as such with respect to our thoughts and emotions. With children, perhaps this can be understood, but when adults venture into that territory - please. I hope you can now understand my limited recommendation for this film. This is all not to say the film doesn't have many positives - it does; particularly its implicit messages regarding the importance of the stability of the family - even through the rough times, and particularly also the acknowledgement of the sacrifice and hard work it takes to raise a family and have children; these together with some genuinely funny and comic moments involving the star of the show - Marley. But the fact that this film primarily centres around said dog, and the aforementioned implicit messages it imparts about dogs and pets in general, means that another film joins the 'could've been classics' club.
