What's not to like about a story of a dog named Marley and his owners/companions? Very little. This is a good little story that may bring tears to your eyes. Especially if you like dogs, Owen Wilson, and Jennifer Anniston.

It is essentially the tale of a young couple in Miami who get married, and then follow the wife's "Life Plan", a checklist of things to do in order to fulfill the dream of happiness. A dog, a Labrador Retriever, drops into their lives, and from there on the checklist takes a few detours, but always the family is on a pathway to good things.

It all clicks pretty well, especially the parts with Marley the dog in them. Owen Wilson does a good job of acting. Jennifer Anniston does a very nice job of acting. The dog fills in his part very well. But even so, I had the feeling that I had seen a lot of these sequences before in other movies, and maybe because of that Wilson and Anniston were not quite as vibrant as they might have been. It was kind of like the sixteenth time you have ridden Space Mountain at Disney World: it's still a fun ride, but maybe by now a bit of the glow has faded a little.

I think this is the kind of film that will work best with adults who have been through a life-cycle with at least one dog, and it probably will work okay with mature children. Not so sure about with small children; they may find some parts disturbing. There are some harrowing true-life 911 adult-type experiences in it, and these are not the kinds of things you normally find in a comedy or a kid-movie. But if you process those painful incidents, you can find fun and value in the ways in which Marley adds joy and frustration to the lives of his owners.

The film ultimately stays on track because you sense that it really is a true-life tale, and that the twists and turns into unpredictable areas are actually quite credible, and so all is in balance. Even so, a part of you is looking at Owen and Anniston and thinking: "Where is the light-hearted chick-flickish comedy?" to your dismay. So in a sense there is a little bit of an identity crisis in the ambiance of the movie,  but that is only a minor distraction; most of what happens as a real-life scenario dillutes that. Even so, I found myself wondering how it might have played out with some other actors that we associate with more straight roles and less comedic ones. I think this might have actually been a non-issue if the script had put in more serious, but not necessarily scarrier, and perhaps introspective, moments for Wilson and Anniston; but since the whole idea of situation-comedy-with-an-adorable-dog had such salient gravity, with these actors it was probably impossible to go there, so we accept the minor off-key-ness as acceptable.

I liked this film and would recommend it to most people to watch. Even so, it is more of a tearjerker than a comedy. Years ago, we cried as we watched "Old Yeller" come to the end of the trail. As we watch Marley wag his tail down that same road, at least we have had some laughs from modern life to make it all go down easy.

Four Stars/****

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older