COMIC DRAMA; 1hr 51min
STARRING: Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston
Who's the boss? Wilson and Aniston
Feel-good ingredients abound in marketer’s delight Marley & Me: the professionally free-and-easy Wilson and the telegenic Aniston as real-life newspaper journalists John and Jenny Grogan, the sunshiny South Florida they move to as newlyweds and, most of all, their exuberant Labrador, Marley (named for cruisey singer Bob and played from puppyhood to old age by a veritable kennel of 22 dogs).
Marley is an irresistible force, a furry tsunami with an appetite for everything. And as great dogs are prone to do, he also manages to be a fully-fledged menace, the life of every party and a loving constant in the Grogans’ evolving lives. As they go through their suburban paces (kids, chaos, disillusionment, bickering, resolution), Marley is their faithful holy terror. The Grogans’ story isn’t really about their pooch — it’s about the choices, compromises and small, precious joys of family, and it’s a buzz to see its two tawny leads deepen in the telling. But Marley is the emotional glue that holds it all together.
