Marley & Me

Marley and Me movie review: After their wedding, newspaper writers John (Owen Wilson) and Jennifer Grogan  (Jennifer Aniston)  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.

The buzz: John Grogan’s book “Marley and Me” was a New York Times bestseller, and 115 minutes on the big screen leaves an awful lot of time for dog chasing, drywall eating and all-around troublemaking. Fortunately John and Jen decide to have kids, and he becomes a popular newspaper columnist so there’s more going on besides the dog—though the movie doesn’t give their children actual personalities and we never hear a word of John’s supposedly hilarious columns.

The verdict: Awwwwwwww. Actually, no. While appealing to pet lovers is like shooting cute-aholics in a barrel, “Marley and Me” is more of a pest than a charmer, since there’s really only so many times anyone needs to see the dog scampering around while Wilson charges behind, screaming “Marley, no!” Aggravation and repetition push out any drama and affection, so when love finally tries to poke its nose in toward the end it’s too late. All the typical home and work issues are straightforward and fine, but the film’s as flavorless as the kitchen floor Marley can't resist chewing. Source: Metromix


Box Office: The film opened on 3,480 screens in the US and Canada on December 25, 2008. It grossed $14.75 million on its first day of release, setting the record for the best Christmas Day box office take ever by surpassing the previous high of $10.2 million achieved by Ali in 2001. It earned a total of $51.7 million over the four-day weekend and placed #1 at the box office, a position it maintained for two weeks. As of August 13, 2009, it had grossed $143,153,751 in the US and $99,563,362 in foreign markets for a total worldwide box office of $242,717,113.

• Wikipedia:  Marley & Me
• Official movie site: Marley & Me
• Watch the trailer below