If you are looking for the kind of film that the whole family can watch with shared laughs, tears and warm fuzzies, consider your search over. Marley & Me hits almost everything right to entertain almost any family imaginable. It avoids virtually every pitfall plaguing the kids & family genre without resorting to crassness or sarcasm. In other words, this film is simply excellent.
After moving to Florida, John and Jenny Grogan (Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston) adopt a puppy to see if they’re ready for the responsibilities of parenthood. The dog, Marley, proves to be every bit a whirlwind as life itself. Through the years, and many ups and downs, Marley is the Grogan’s constant companion and provides John with material for his weekly column. The column and the dog both become objects of devotion, praise, scorn, and frustration as life passes by.
This film could have been incredibly tacky, cheesy and eye-roll inducing. Does it have a few predictable moments? Yes, but not as many as you might expect. The story itself is something that sounds dead-on like a Hallmark Channel movie of the week featuring second-rate talent creaking their way through a stiff but emotionally manipulative script. That Marley & Me is none of these things is incredibly refreshing.
Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson have wonderful chemistry and are acting well within their abilities. The writing (based on a true story) never strays too far out of the bounds of reality. It gets appropriately silly sometimes, which may not cater well to the cynical and uber-serious crowds, and matches the ebb and flow of real life pretty darn well. The restraint required to avoid cutesy clichés is hefty and I think it may even weigh on the pace just a bit.
One note of caution is that Marley & Me contains some mature content. Most of it will go over the heads of the youngest viewers but tweens and teens will understand it. There’s some implied sexuality and even an instance of skinny-dipping- pretty surprising stuff for a PG film. One thing I’m not crazy about is the swearing. Is it necessary to drop the s-bomb in a film marketed to young children? I think not. The cursing isn’t a deal breaker, though, because there is enough charm and heart in this film to move you past those few isolated incidents pretty quickly.
There’s nothing technically impressive about this film but Marley & Me is an absolute charmer. It’s emotionally honest about married life, parenthood, and pet ownership without resorting to forcing emotional cues. The issues faced within the reels aren’t sugar-coated or watered-down for easy consumption. While it may seem that this film caters toward dog-owners, it plays well to anyone who has ever owned a pet before. This is just part of the family-movie magic inherent to this film.
