Written by Senora Bicho
When I saw the first trailer for Marley & Me, I was not aware that it was based on a popular autobiographical book written by John Grogan, who also worked on the screenplay. I thought it looked silly and had no interest in seeing it at all. Once I heard about the book from a friend and some good things about it, I started to change my mind. Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston are not my favorite actors but I do usually enjoy them, so when the chance to review it came up, I thought it would be a nice break from my usual crime fare.
John (Wilson) and Jennifer (Aniston) Grogan are a young married couple on the rise. They are both journalists but Jennifer is the more successful of the two. After getting settled in their new home, John gets nervous about starting a family. Close friend and womanizer Sebastian (Eric Dane) advises him to get a dog first. John takes the advice and surprises Jennifer with Marley, an adorable Labrador puppy named after Bob Marley. The pup is trouble from the start: he makes a mess of the house, never listens, and is generally out of control. In an attempt to get Marley to behave, the Grogan’s enroll him in obedience school but after he is quickly kicked out they must figure it out on their own. Kathleen Turner makes a brief appearance here as the trainer and I wish it would have been a larger role because she is terrific.
One day John’s boss Arnie (Alan Arkin) offers him a twice-a-week column until he can find a replacement. John is stumped on what to write about and uses his life with Marley as his first subject. Arnie loves it because of its personal touch. John continues along those lines and he gets the column permanently. Now settled in his job and comfortable with life with Jennifer and Marley, John decides it is time to go ahead and start the family. The rest of the movie takes us through the ups of downs of the Grogan family.
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