Review of Marley & Me (2008) by Halfwelshman — 27 Aug 2012

Marley & Me is a lovely, inoffensive little film. The basic premise is pretty generic: a typical romantic comedy plot about a married couple who are considering settling down and having a family, but are reluctant to sacrifice their successful careers in journalism, so instead they get a dog.

That dog is an energetic golden retriever that they name Marley, who turns out to be quite a handful, and that's where the fun begins. We get great performances from Owen Wilson, and particularly Jennifer Aniston, who gives the best in her career - natural, empathetic and with real emotional depth.

They make an incredibly likable couple, and their relationship develops believably as their characters approach middle age. Alan Arkin also has a brilliant comic turn as the hilariously deadpan newspaper editor who employs Wilson's John Grogan.

The film's story is surprisingly involving, Marley misbehaving and causing chaos is very funny, and there are a good number of affecting emotional beats. It's all grossly sentimental of course, which will put some people off, and it's rather long and a bit slow at some points, but if you're a dog-lover, and if your heart is, well, actually a heart, then you really can't help but be moved by the final act of the film.

Marley & Me doesn't break any new ground at all, but it really doesn't need to - it's warm cuddly and comforting, like your favourite canine friend, and sometimes that's all you want from a film.