Marley and Me

I went out to watch Marley and Me a few days ago after a long hiatus from the Cinema. Was supposed to watch Slumdog Millionaire but decided against it at the ticketing office.

Anyway, back to the movie…

Based on the autobiographical book: “Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog” by John Grogan, the movie tells a tale of John Grogan (Owen Wilson) and Jennifer Grogan (Jennifer Aniston) embarking on challenges of starting a family. As they were contemplating of having kids, John’s friend suggested getting a dog to see if they were ready for parenthood. However, Marley turned out to be more than they expected. He was kicked out of obedience school (by taking down the trainer) and eating/chewing/destroying on almost anything (including drywall, the couch, pillows, and even ate a necklace).

As I have not read the book, I can’t make a comparison on the films accuracy and dramatization. Assuming the movie was accurate and true to the book (which doesn’t happen most of the time), this movie has snippets of hilarity especially when the dog Marley showed up. There was an audible “aww” when Marley (the puppy) first appeared on screen. Notable sobs from the audience were also heard at the end.

Overall, “Marley and Me” is a heart warming story. Although the storyline seems a little cliche, but Marley and his hilarious stunts made it a pleasure to watch.