A Dog's Life
Written: Jan 17 '09 (Updated Jan 17 '09)
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Product Rating:
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| Bang For The Buck |
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Pros: Good screenplay and direction, performances of Wilson, Arkin and Turner
Cons: Some will find fault with pacing and ending
The Bottom Line: Take a walk with this dog.
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| pmills1210's Full Review: Marley & Me |
In the time leading up to my viewing of "Marley & Me," I couldn't help but think of Kelly, the last dog to share a home with me. Unlike Marley, a purebred Labrador dog, Kelly was a clearance dog of a different sort. Advertised as a purebred collie, Kelly was actually a collie mix. A $10 price tag, even in 1970 dollars, should have served as a sign that he wasn't the kind of dog described. Like Marley, Kelly could have won the title as the dumb dog of his day. The one command he learned was sit, and expected to be fed any time he did that. One icy day, as my father took Kelly for a walk, the dog broke away from my dad and into street traffic. He sat down in the road as a car skidded a bit to avoid hitting him. Kelly avoided injury, and eventually had a longer life than any pet that has ever lived with me. He could be very silly, but he was always there with a friendly presence, whether my family was in the mood for it or not.
"Marley & Me" chronicles the life of the dog that spent his existence with journalist John Grogan (Owen Wilson) and his wife Jenny (Jennifer Aniston), who was making a journalistic mark of her own once the couple moved from Michigan to Florida. Once both found work and a place to live, they bought the puppy who was most eager to greet them the first time they met. He was dubbed the "clearance puppy" by the Grogans because he was the lest expensive pup of the litter that included him. From the day he arrived at the Grogan home, Marley had a tendency to chew on everything and generally make a mess. Those habits only grew as Marley grew, and the Grogan family grew to include three children. At work, John dreamed of doing the kind of investigative journalism his friend and colleague Sebastian Tunney (Eric Dane) was doing. They even talked of working together, but John's writing career was headed down a different path. After being impressed with his work on local stories, John's editor, Arnie Klein (Alan Arkin), offers him his own column, where he can write whatever he wants. Many of them were about the dog, and were a hit with his editor and readers. However, he eventually sought out the opportunity to write other pieces, which led the Grogans to move to Pennsylvania, taking Marley with them.
"Marley & Me," which is set primarily in the 1990s, handles the issues of pet ownership with great humor and great honesty. Marley is the kind of dog that makes trouble, in spite of an affectionate nature. He's a big, friendly, four-legged home wrecker. Nothing is safe from Marley, from a toy to a screen to a dog trainer. Yet, he's also there when things don't go right, such as when Jenny experiences a mild case of postpartum depression. The final twenty minutes of the film will be hard for some to watch, as the playful nature of Marley gives way to the inevitable arrival of old age. Marley, though, continues to be consistent in his company and in his loyalty, even when he no longer has the energy of a young dog. Grogan's book, which is the source for the movie, gets a pet - and human - friendly treatment from Scott Frank and Don Roos, who have penned other movies I have admired, such as "Dead Again" and "Bounce." The pacing of director David Frankel may seem a bit slow, but it allows viewers the time to appreciate the experiences the Grogans and others had with the big canine.
I also enjoyed the performances in this movie. Wilson, who also serves as the narrator, is very good as the guy who had his hands full with Marley - and enjoyed virtually every minute of it. Every time John thought Marley couldn't behave worse, Marley proves him wrong, such as the scene where they visit the local dog beach for the last time. Yet, through Marley, John finds a voice he didn't expect to have in the world of print. Arkin is funny as the deadpan Arnie, whose instincts lead him to give John a column. When Arnie reads a Marley piece, Arnie tells John he's laughing on the inside while never breaking a smile. Kathleen Turner has an amusing cameo as Ms. Kornblut, the trainer who tries to instill some measure of obedience in Marley, but she finds her student has other plans.
"Marley & Me" doesn't say anything extraordinary about the relationship between people and their pets, but the film makes clear that all pets can be special in a home where people are there to care for them and treat them well. Not everybody gets to own a dog like Marley, but many of us get to make the acquaintance of such an animal. Whatever they may lack in self-control, they compensate for that trait with as much affection as they have. "Marley & Me" is the sort of statement any pet owner could make about the pets who have made life seem a little more special, even though others might just see that tale as mundane. Pets mark certain phases of our lives. John Grogan had Marley. I had Kelly. We know they aren't really as dumb as they may seem. We also know that our lives are a little better for having known them. They may have cost less than other puppies, but they were well worth the price we paid.
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Family Movie
Viewing Method: Other
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Nothing
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Member: Pat Mills
Location: East Chicago, In.
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"Nothing in moderation." - Ernie Kovacs. Read and enjoy!
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