Marley & Me is the true story of John Grogan (Owen Wilson), his family, and their dog Marley. Based on John Grogan’s best-selling autobiographical book of the same name ,this is a true American dramedy (half drama, half comedy), following the Grogan family from John and Jenny’s (Jennifer Aniston) wedding, through multiple house moves, job interviews, pregnancy scares and mishaps, births, and the one constant throughout; Marley, the Grogan family dog.
Marley & Me is based on John Grogan’s best-selling autobiography, of the same name, which was in turn based on a series of newspaper columns he wrote, while working for a high profile Florida newspaper, chronicling all major, and many mundane, events in his family life, that were often centered around the often comical antics of the family dog Marley.
The film begins shortly before Grogan accepts the job at the Florida newspaper (with his wedding), and details the decision making process behind buying the now infamous dog (as a way to prevent his wife from getting pregnant), his career shift from mediocre journalist to insanely popular column writer, and the growth and evolution of his relationship with wife Jenny and their children.
The first thing to note when choosing to watch Marley & Me is that it isn’t a typical romantic comedy; anyone expecting the usual boy meets girl while walking dog, boy and girl grow close, boy and girl have a tiff, boy and girl live happily ever after plot, will be severely disappointed. When the film begins the boy and girl have already met and fallen in love, and instead the film follows their marriage over a period of 13 years, including all its highs and lows, from pregnancy to vacations and even neighborhood break-ins. However the main focus of the film, is the relationship that grows between each of the family members and Marley, “The World’s Worst Dog” (according to John Grogan), as despite chewing furniture, swallowing jewellery, and some rather inappropriate humping, Marley’s affectionate nature shines through and he really becomes a member of the family.
Both Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston perform the films comedy elements with ease despite the fact that the film isn’t the usual rude teen/slapstick comedy that Wilson usually shines in or the sitcom/child friendly ventures that have made Jennifer Aniston so popular, yet there is plenty of comedy here, practically all of which revolves around Marley’s antics, with the remainder being made up of some clever and witty character jokes, all of which are at least chuckle worthy, if not laugh out loud funny. However it is in all of the films emotional scenes where the true acting talent of the main stars shows through, as there are tears of joy as well as sorrow, plenty of rage, and a good deal of humility all conveyed by both of the headlining stars, and both Wilson and Aniston performed their respective parts very well, with Owen Wilson’s being possibly his most adult (although not entirely his most convincing) performance to date.
Direction and cinematography here are nothing awe worthy, and stick fairly close to genre standards, with little flair being shown, although such a style has only become standard because it works well for the genre, and whilst not being especially fresh or modern, the style works perfectly well for the film.
In short Marley and Me is a true heart-warming family story, as it is both suitable for family viewing and tells the story of a real life family and everything that they experience over a thirteen year period, and while it is aimed mostly at the romantic-comedy loving female audience it’s also suitable for men as it’s a different story that is both funny and emotional and has several scenes that just about any viewer will be able to personally relate to. The film isn’t without its problems, such as despite occurring over thirteen years and having children that by the films close are at least coming to the end of primary school, the main stars don’t appear to age even a day and both finish with a full head of blonde hair despite finding each others first grey hair near the beginning of the film. However it’s a film that delivers exactly what it promises; a tale that guarantees to give a good hard tug on every viewer’s heart strings, and leave them thinking “aw.”
Picture:
The DVD release of Marley and Me has a picture that is at the height of DVD capabilities; the colour palette isn’t overly strong but has enough pop to make the right elements clearly stand out, flesh tones are completely natural, and the detail level is also fairly high. This is a top quality DVD transfer with as little grain or image problems as possible, and for people who crave superior image quality Marley and Me is also being released on Blu-ray Disc, and if the DVD is anything to go by the picture on the Blu-ray edition should be nothing short of superb.
Audio:
Marley and Me plays with a 5.1 soundtrack which, strangely for a new release, is only available in English. As with any drama/comedy the soundtrack won’t prove to be a speaker testing extravaganza, because there are no car chases, no gun fights, and no scenes that require much in the way of surround, however the sounds used are very effective; dialogue is heavily anchored to the front speakers, being both clear and easy to understand, music resonates mostly from the front, with quieter sounds emanating from the rear speakers, and there is a good deal of ambient noise in the many outdoor scenes which add to the realistic feel of the story. Overall Marley and Me received a very effective, although not noteworthy, soundtrack.
Extras:
Marley and Me has a plethora of extras including a look at finding and training the 22 dogs used to play Marley (“Finding Marley”), Cast and crew discussing working with children and animals (“Breaking the Golden Rule”), a talk with Marley (“On Set With Marley: Dog Of All Trades”), a short detailing how difficult it was to recreate an accident that happened on set (“When Not To Pee”), deleted scenes with commentary, a discussion about the benefits of adopting a dog (“Animal Adoption”) and finally a gag reel.
Unfortunately the review disc only contained the “Finding Marley” and gag reel extras, but both were certainly worth a watch; they are both short enough so that they don’t become boring (8 and 5 minutes respectively) and the Finding Marley featurette is interesting in how it explains how some of the best scenes in the film were spur of the moment suggestions made by the dog trainers, how unruly and funny some of the dogs were, and how they had to undergo ‘anti-training’ in order to become Marley. The gag reel isn’t overly funny and seems more of a montage for the cast to look back at fondly, yet there are moments that are likely to make you smile, the funniest of which involving the crew trying to get a perfectly clam and happy baby to cry on cue, and having great difficulty in attempting it.
Having only seen two of the features it is impossible to provide a true rating, but from those two it appears that any fan of the film will likely enjoy watching the extras on this disc, because they are amusing, short and easy to watch, and have the same tone as the film itself. Anyone who opts for the Blu-ray version will also receive two additional features revolving around dog training; a picture in picture training trivia track, and a dog training 101 bonus view video.
The Bottom Line:
Marley and Me is a surprisingly good film, the acting from the main cast is solid, the story is everything it should be; amusing, heart-warming and full of emotion; and it doesn’t fail to gain a reaction from the audience. It’s also a film that is well suited to just about any occasion; it’s a film that parents can enjoy with their children, it’s perfect for any couples romantic night in, or even just a girlie night alone with a bar of chocolate. The film itself has also been given a good release package as the DVD version at least has a top quality picture, an effective yet not awe-inspiring soundtrack, and extras that perfectly fit the tone of the film and are very easy to watch. This is definitely a film that is more suited to women than men, but there’s plenty for male viewers to enjoy; in short it’s an emotional story that’s well worth buying and would make a great present for any lady.
