I was prepared to hate Marley and Me. This is probably something a film critic shouldn’t admit, but the trailers for this adaptation of John Grogan’s bestseller features all the telltale signs of being a shameless, manipulative
tearjerker. Truth be told, by film’s end, I had shed a tear or two. But that was only because the focus of the film
was not on the title dog but rather the ups and downs of an American family,
sincerely delivered by director David Frankel and his cast.
The last thing on John and Jennifer Grogan’s (Owen Wilson and Jennifer Anniston) minds after they get married is adopting a
dog. After all, they’ve just moved from Michigan to Florida, are both starting new jobs at rival
newspapers and trying to whip a tiny, rundown home into shape. However, in an
effort to delay his wife’s yearning for a child, John gets her a puppy for her birthday, a mangy mutt
they deem a “clearance puppy” as its owner is so eager to get rid of him, she offers to sell him at a cut
rate. Ignoring the sage advice that “you get what you pay for” the Grogans scoop up the Golden Retriever, dub him Marley and sacrifice their
sanity as well as many pieces of furniture.
As the Grogans endure their share of tragedy (a miscarriage, marital strife,
etc.) and success (professional success, three healthy children), Marley
continues to destroy couches, terrorize housesitters and create mayhem as only
a drooling canine can. The scenes in which the star, portrayed by 21 separate
dogs, rends the various sets are pleasing in a way that only the sight of a
wild creature ripping up a kitchen floor can be. All dog owners in the audience
will sympathize with the Grogans and recall their own experience when the only
thing that saved their hound was a soulful look from the bottomless pit that is
their pet’s eyes.
The film works because it answers a need in viewers by providing them with a
picture of the American Dream that’s becoming more and more an unrealistic possibility. Frankel’s aesthetic is modern Norman Rockwell: one scene after another features shots of
the perfect wife, caring for three perfect children in an upper middle class
home, while a loving dad and their faithful pet looks on. In many ways, this is
as much of a fantasy as Star Wars for most and only the solid work from Wilson and Anniston save it from being
too cloying or insulting. Much like many heartwarming films of yesterday, Marley and Me may have only one foot in reality, but the fantasy it provides is too enticing
to scoff at. You’re far too busy wishing it were true and that you were in the middle of it.
This article appears in Dec 18-24, 2008.
