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Marley & Me
Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Owen
Wilson, Alan Arkin, Eric Dane, Haley Bennett
Directed by: David Frankel
Produced
by:
Gil Netter, Karen Rosenfelt
Written
by: Donald Roos, Scott Frank
Distributor: 20th Century Fox |
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Unlike its
(crushed) box-office competitor Bedtime Stories,
Marley & Me represents Hollywood filmmaking at its finest.
It’s a well-written, well-acted family film that will in the end
bring at least a speck of added moisture to even the most
pessimistic of viewers’ eyes (mine included). The movie was
directed by David Frankel, who also helmed the
superiorly-entertaining Devil Wears Prada, and stars a
never-more-likable Owen Wilson and remarkably-tolerable Jennifer
Aniston. They play print journalists John and Jennifer
Grogan—yeah, it’s a stretch, but they make it work—who start a
family by adopting the titular mutt Marley, who wreaks havoc on
any piece of furniture, object, or animal that catches his eye.
(Normally I use the proper “it” when describing a dog, but the
practice would be futile here.) There isn’t anything more to the
movie than the above. Things change in John and Jenn’s
lives—they have children, switch jobs, and move from Florida to
Pennsylvania—but the movie remains the sincere story of the days
they spend with their lovable and life-changing (if troublesome)
dog. It’s assuring to know that a mega-budget production with
larger-than-life stars can still be allowed to have faith in
simplicity so long as it’s well-made. The situations and
dialogue, adapted from those in the popular novel by the real
John Grogan, are funny and touching enough to sustain a
substantial 123-minute running length. Fused with the movie’s
full slate of winning performances—Wilson and Aniston are
matched every step of the way by supporters including Alan Arkin,
Eric Dane, and Nathan Gamble (particularly sympathetic as the
oldest Grogan child)—these elements make Marley & Me a
treat for all moviegoers, even those who don’t particularly like
dogs.
-Danny Baldwin,
Bucket Reviews
Review Published
on: 1.4.2008
Screened on:
12.29.2007 at the Edwards San Marcos 18 in San Marcos, CA.
Marley & Me is rated PG-13 and runs 123
minutes.
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