Synopsis:
Two newspaper writers learn important life lessons from
their adorable, but naughty and neurotic dog.
The Freak's
Rating: B+ : Being impartial to movies is
sometimes difficult. If someone were to
make a movie about a guy who lived in Illinois,
moved to Minnesota, got married and had a pug
named Gus, it might be hard for me not to like
the film. When movies take hold of you and
represent your life on screen, you get caught
up...and sometimes overgrade.
Jennifer Aniston has been on a press tear as of
late, showing everyone she can still be sexy at
40 years old. Aniston is surprisingly
effective as Jennifer Grogan, mother of Marley.
King of the "I need a nose job"
village, Owen
Wilson, plays John Grogan, a newspaper writer
whose work lacks inspiration...until he finds
Marley. Outside of the two leads, the
supporting male roles are played by Leonardo DiCaprio
look-alike Eric Dane and the always
reliable Alan Arkin. Both do a good job.
Growing up I felt teenage lust for Kathleen
Turner. Romancing The Stone, Body Heat and
heck, even Who Framed Roger Rabbit had her near
the top of my Hollywood crush list. In Marley &
Me, Turner returns to the screen only to
showcase that she has "hit the wall" (as they
say). Turner not only hit it, she plowed
right on through. Overweight and aged
awfully, Turner portrays a dog trainer who
attempts to tame Marley.
Writing is decent for the film, with expanded
vocabulary shown within the family of writers
nicely and enough elements of lives showcased on
screen to make the film easy for all to follow
without shoving life lessons down your throat.
The script is fairly predictable, but still
charmingly effective.
Overall Marley & Me is a good film, just shy of
a necessary own and rewatch. Animal lovers
will adore this film and the way it shows the
connection between a dog and its owner and
non-dog people may even find themselves curious
the next time they see a puppy available in a
pet store. A warning to people considering
taking the family to see the film that Marley &
Me does contain some adult content you may find
yourself having a talk with your kids about
should you choose to take them to see it.
A PG-13 rating may have been necessary.
That aside, it is a good family feature I'm
excited to show my wife soon.
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