Heel the love
After their wedding, newspaper writers John and Jennifer Grogan move to Florida. In an attempt to stall Jennifer's "biological clock", John gives her a puppy. While the puppy Marley grows into a 100 pound dog, he loses none of his puppy energy or rambunctiousness. Meanwhile, Marley gains no self-discipline. Marley's antics give John rich material for his newspaper column. As the Grogans mature and have children of their own, Marley continues to test everyone's patience by acting like the world's most impulsive dog.
Genre(s): Comedy, Drama, Family, Romance
Runtime: 120 minutes
Rating: 7.1/10 (24,167 votes)
Release Date: 25 December 2008
Country: USA
Languages: English
Company: Fox 2000 Pictures
Sound: DTS, Dolby Digital
MPAA: Rated PG for thematic material, some suggestive content and language.
Director(s): David Frankel
Related Videos for Marley & Me (2008)
Thinking of watching this movie? Then click on the like button!
Producer(s):
Joseph M. Caracciolo Jr. - executive producer (as Joe Carriocolo Jr.)
Arnon Milchan - executive producer
Gil Netter - producer
Karen Rosenfelt - producer
Writer(s):
Scott Frank - (screenplay) and
Don Roos - (screenplay)
John Grogan - (book)
Cast:
Owen Wilson - John
Jennifer Aniston - Jenny
Eric Dane - Sebastian
Kathleen Turner - Ms. Kornblut
Alan Arkin - Arnie Klein
Nathan Gamble - Patrick (Age 10)
Haley Bennett - Lisa
Ann Dowd - Dr. Platt
Clarke Peters - Editor
Finley Jacobsen - Conor (Age 8)
Music: Theodore Shapiro
Joseph M. Caracciolo Jr. - executive producer (as Joe Carriocolo Jr.)
Arnon Milchan - executive producer
Gil Netter - producer
Karen Rosenfelt - producer
Writer(s):
Scott Frank - (screenplay) and
Don Roos - (screenplay)
John Grogan - (book)
Cast:
Owen Wilson - John
Jennifer Aniston - Jenny
Eric Dane - Sebastian
Kathleen Turner - Ms. Kornblut
Alan Arkin - Arnie Klein
Nathan Gamble - Patrick (Age 10)
Haley Bennett - Lisa
Ann Dowd - Dr. Platt
Clarke Peters - Editor
Finley Jacobsen - Conor (Age 8)
Music: Theodore Shapiro
Posted on: December 8, 2008
July 27th, 2009
Little Insider From Me "I see many movies, I had my ideas of this moviebefore I saw it, I wondered if it was just another flick that you seeonce and thats it, it certainly looked like that in the beginning, butboy was I surprised. Marley and Me is a special rendering, some moviescome and go, and some stay with you, you know being a critic of moviesas myself I have seen crappy ones a lot, I dedicated myself to try andmake up for that, thats why I only have one movie on IMDb which Ididn't like, the rest is reviewed from a proud movie watcher. I want torecite to you movies that you should be proud of saying you havewatched, even proud of saying that you cried, not every movie doesthis, and it is sometimes hard to find one, but this one does, lets goto the review"
Story: 9/10 The story is about a couple who get a dog, the worlds worstdog. The story is actually slow, it doesn't have a really fast pace, itis one of those movies once again where the story doesn't have to behuge, it is a little lovable story, and if you had a dog as a child oreven through your years you might just relate to this, but if youhaven't then this story will still suck you in, don't look at it as amediocre story or flick or something, actually in my opinion this isone of the best movies I have ever seen, and this is the best I haveseen with Owen Wilson, I didn't like his movies that much actually butthis movie made my mind change and that is perfect.
Actors: 10/10 Need I say anything here, actually no I don't have to sayanything I already pointed out that Owen Wilson won me over with thismovie and that is huge, also I am of course a huge fan of JenniferAnnistons movies, so of course I liked it very much, yet I still in thebeginning hesitated but glad I watched it through, great cast enoughfor anything sometimes it don't need to be anything huge, sometimes itis enough with just 3 a woman a man and their dog.
Music: 9/10 Everything was actually great the theme of this movie isvery good, it is clear as the sea that they knew exactly what the themeshould be and what they did with that made this awesome as well, butnothing more then that, the music is very very good, and maybe I willjust buy the soundtrack which I don't do that often…
Overall 8/10 I was pleased to see this movie, I was pleased to see Iwas wrong about something I see within movies, and also very much gladto say I was wrong about Owen Wilson, I just hope that I get to seeother movies like this with him, not all those funny ones, he justproved that serious is really awesome, great movie, they knew rightaway what they would end with in their hands, a perfect score that islovable, a story that needs to be seen once, and more then that, greatmovie, I will end with the quote.
"A dog has no use for fancy cars, big homes, or designer clothes. Awater log stick will do just fine. A dog doesn't care if your rich orpoor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Give him your heart and he'll giveyou his. How many people can you say that about? How many people canmake you feel rare and pure and special? How many people can make youfeel extraordinary?"
August 7th, 2009
Very well done. This movie captured, the essence about a family owninga pet to a T. They covered every facet; from the seed that took place ,to the aftermath of a dogs death. Even the naming of the dog, I am surehad people shaking their heads , thinking thats how they named theirpet. Owen Wilson did his best acting . In a somewhat serious role , Ifelt this was even better than the job he did in 'The Minus Man'. AlanArkin was fine in his supporting role, as he usually is. I have seenbetter from Aniston but she was OK. The film really captured how thefamily dog is a member of the family.The movie also explored , theeveryday life going on and life changes with the addition of 3 children, gradually. Major life changes , of course. Marley always in the thickof things .I think it should, 'almost' be required to see this filmbefore one gets a pet , particularly a dog. In a nutshell, This filmwas a tasteful journey of a canines lifeline. A tribute to mans bestfriend for sure.
August 9th, 2009
I find it astonishing that the first couple of screens of reviews ofthis film come down to … if you like dogs you like this movie, and ifyou hate this movie you must hate dogs. Nonsense! I grew up with dogs.Indeed they do become part of the family, but the dogs I grew up withwere so ill-trained that they exhibited all the same behaviour asMarley, here. And it's really hard to like a badly-behaved dog.
Someone once said, there are no bad dogs, only bad owners, and this isamply illustrated both my MARLEY AND ME and my own life experience. Inthis respect, the movie reminded my of why I don't have my own dogs (orother pets) as an adult.
So what we have here is a badly behaved dog – which is really hard tolike – saddled with immensely likable but ineffectual owners. And thisresults in a movie that's very tough to like. On any level.
Even then, it might've been saved if the script had been witty or hadsomething worthwhile to say, but as has been noted by other reviewershere, it's just a checklist of scenes of Marley causing chaos which isall that's on offer in the way of comedy.
Much as I like both Anniston (Brad, what were you thinking of?) andWilson, I struggled to find any scrap of entertainment or enlightenmentin this tragic waste of time and talent.
August 10th, 2009
i gave this movie a 10 out of 10. i didn't expect much from it. ithought it would be boring but i was so wrong. my face was stretchedfrom laughing and soaked from crying; all emotions i have yet to havefelt in a movie in a long time. Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston did atremendous job with their acting.the story line of the moviewas…absolutely superb. i know the movie is based on a book but itstill seemed perfect. i still cannot believe how much i underestimatedthis film. i waited too long to watch it so i suggest that you watchthe movie and experience all the joy and all the tears throughout themovie.
August 16th, 2009
We rented some movies from blockbuster one night and neither of which Ihad heard very much about. As I looked at the covers I wasn't veryimpressed at all. Especially not the cover art, it was all very basicand obvious. One of these movies was Marley and Me, in which myexpectations were very low. It looked like any other run of the millmovies that the entire "family" could enjoy or some movie like My DogSkip or something like that. However, my expectations were blown out ofthe way even though it was very similar to My Dog Skip.
I actually found the movie to be very entertaining and funny. It was amovie about life, not so much a cute animal flick. Anyone who has hadto raise a dog while trying to start a family can relate to this story.If you love dogs or have ever owned one, you would also appreciate thismovie.
There were a few things that I did not like so much, although I can'tremember too many right now. There was a long drawn out montage in themiddle of the film in which I thought went on a tad too long. But,overall, I never really lost interest. It was touching and funny inmany parts. I don't think, though, that I would necessarily watchagain, at least not for some time.
It was just a good movie.
August 30th, 2009
I just watched the movie Marley and Me, described by Mark Allen (CBS)as "The perfect Family Comedy". Owen Wilson is a Jewish journalist thatspends his vacation with his wife, Jennifer Aniston at Ireland. At thehotel, the Director, David Frankel, makes a mockery of Catholic Irishtraditions and Wilson talks with disrespect about Catholic authorities.Out of context, the scene only shows religious fundamentalism andsuperficial perspective of Irish culture. For many years Ireland hassuffered a very bloody war based on lack of respect and tolerance.Jewish and Arabs are still fighting in part for the same reason. Thescars from the Holocaust are still fresh in Jewish minds. Are we goingto import these conflicts by nourishing religious fanaticism? Americawas built upon religious tolerance and respect. Family entertainmentshould fortify these values, not to corrode them.
September 5th, 2009
When first approached to consider filling the lead female role in Marley & Me, Jennifer Aniston reportedly turned it down because she didn't find the concept of a “dog movie” to be appealing. To be fair, the stigma attached to such movies is something that's been built up over years of kitschy, overly caricatured features that like to anthropomorphise the animal as something other than what they are. So it's no surprise then that when Aniston eventually got around to reading the core of Marley & Me's story that she turned around and took on the role immediately. You see, rather than just throw out another cute, mischievous and bothersome dog story, John Grogan's book deals with the above, but does so always making sure that the story relates to his own personal experiences to the animal rather than attaching them to him literally. The result is a “dog movie” that is quite like no other in that it actually portrays that which makes a dog lovable in the first place (which is, no doubt, his lack of our own fickleness and in turn an almost endless supply of love) and uses it to show just how much of a family member such an animal can develop into.Translated to the big screen, Marley & Me works just as well; with the understated performances of Aniston and Wilson (both of whom I have doubted in the past, but sorely regret doing so now) in tow with a very tightly scripted, well paced story that develops so many aspects you won't even notice until the final few scenes, the emotional resonance that director David Frankel seeps from the pages of Grogan's novel is palpable. Just to give a balanced account of the whole, it must be said that this subtlety that transpires over the course of the movie's first two acts can be misleading at first—what seems like an unfocused blend of TV family drama with a conventional dog-story actually develops and transforms into something beautifully refined and constructed; but with this said the time that it takes to get there leaves the entire feature feeling a tad unbalanced. Yet even with this discrepancy, there's still plenty of things to enjoy about the movie's earlier half, and well, that's all part of the build up to act three anyway which turns all that on its head and brings it to a wonderful close.To say that Marley & Me is a tear-jerker is something of an understatement. While I understand that giving this away obviously points to one direction as to where the movie goes, this aspect is just so natural and important to the feature that it leaves one to wonder why a movie like this hadn't been as well made before. Of course, the answer lies in the fact that much of the feature comes from personal experience from Grogan, and so the narrative is always informed by emotion and that ever-romanticised cloud of memory that helps keep the movie feeling real but at the same time large enough to stop from becoming fully pedestrian. It also helps that Marley & Me isn't purely built on plucking the heart-strings, in fact, very little of such manipulation occurs at all until the closing scenes, and so the restraint that director Frankel shows respects the viewer enough to let them build their own impressions of the characters. Through clever use of the typical dog-movie antics, family drama and character development, the movie feels fun, moving, and funny, but most of all—natural.For movies such as this, it's real easy to get stuck writing for the cliché characters, stock-room dog jokes (although there a handful present here, but are treated with less theatrical tardiness than is common—Marley is constantly referred to as “the worst dog in the world” because of his tendency to cause a ruckus) and overly mawkish sentiments built around family, but Marley & Me resists this and yet comes out all the more emotionally engaging for it. Most significant of all these points however is that I don't think I've ever felt so much for a dog in a movie as much as I did for Marley, and that's something special right there. Detaching itself from the comical, flat-levelled safe-approach that most dog-movies take and instead making Marley the most emotive subject in the movie is a bold movie and certainly not an easy thing to do, yet Frankel pulls it off wonderfully and does so with a sense of reverence to Grogan's own personal story. No, it's not perfect, and there are certain moments where the movie gets a little too far into tedium for its own good in the middle stages, but in the end you can't help but see why this is all necessary. By building up characters, their ties to each other and their pet dog slowly and with restraint, Marley & Me is one of the very few real dog-movies out there with a real sense of personality, charm and heart that only a real dog could offer.
September 9th, 2009
i found parts of this movie sad. i loved the part when Marley was tiedto the table and then dragged it along with him while he was chasingthe birds. Marley was a fabulous way to portray the life of a dog, fromits birth to its death. oh but it was one sad death i mean: theinjection! i cried so much when i saw this part:(. i felt that theactors played their roles really well.the way they spoke, walked andacted played a big part in the way this movie was made awesome. whenMarley was around the children they showed the love and affection thatany dog-lover would show to their dogs.i loved their house in the lastfew scenes it showed that after loving ion luxury they finally settleddown to a nice country life