Review of Marley & Me (2008) by Buggy B — 14 Oct 2014

When I first heard that John Gorgan's bestseller was being made into a movie I can't say I was thrilled with the casting. I was mostly disappointed that Jennifer Aniston was going to play the wife and... she lived up to my initial disappointment. Owen Wilson (who I had my doubts about) does a good job as John though and Eric Dane was a nice surprise.

The movie version is more about the family and its ups and downs over the years than the dog, whereas the book was all about the dog with the people just on the fringes. Movie Marley also isn't nearly as "bad" as book Marley. Other than those couple of things and maybe the fact that they used a different dog in almost every scene, I enjoyed this movie a lot. It's a decent adaption following a Philadelphia newspaper columnist and his wife who move to Florida and adopt a Labrador puppy that quickly turns their lives upside down. Marley's illicit behaviour continues over the years of job and home changes, and the challenges of a growing family.

In all honesty I've never seen the end of this movie I always shut it off just as John starts to notice that the dog is getting old. This is highly recommended as it will save you A LOT of heartache. Pretty much as soon as Marley has trouble getting up the stairs and sleeps out in the rain shut er down and this ends up becoming a heartwarming feel good movie. 10/11/1 4.