Marley and Me Starring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson Movie Review Peter Tosto

Marley and Me 2008 Movie Review by Peter Tosto Starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston.

Marley and Me based on a true story of Marley a Labrador retriever and its guardian Me, John Grogan (Owen Wilson) and Jennifer Grogan (Jennifer Aniston).

The cast also includes Eric Dane who plays Sebastian, Kathleen Turner (Ms. Komblut A/K/A Dog Trainer) and Alan Arkin (Arnie Klein).

Marley and Me will hit audiences differently depending if you are a dog owner or not and whether you are involved with your dog day to day or do you just have one.

John Grogan (Owen Wilson) and his newlywed bride Jennifer (Jennifer Aniston) get married in Michigan on a snowy blistering day. Both are writers, John looking to become a famous reporter while his wife Jennifer seems to be receiving a bit more success early in their careers.

Co-star Sebastian played by Mc Dreamy of Grey's Anatomy Eric Dane is the forever single bachelor traveling the globe reporting stories and receiving accolades from the most prominent newspapers including the New York Times.

Jen and John Grogan move from Michigan to sunny Florida just north of Boca Raton where John lands a job with Sebastian at the local newspaper. Grogan finds himself working for Arnie Klein played by Alan Arkin an extremely likable boss who gives Grogan a shot hoping to be surprised. Grogan finds himself writing a column instead of becoming the famous reporter he yearned to be. His column comes with great success as a result of his relationship with Marley.

After the Grogan's get settled into their new house John (Wilson) decides to surprise his wife Jennifer (Aniston) for her birthday with a new puppy which turns out to be Marley.

Marley and Me has been portrayed to be a family film that is a comedy, it is more along the lines of a tragic comedy but one worth seeing. Marley is a trip to watch and each of the dogs that played Marley did so with honors. As this beautiful story of undeniable love without boundaries plays out we see how Marley keeps the love alive in a sometime troubled day to day life. Marley keeps John and Jennifer focused on what is important in life and what not to get too stressed about. As the Grogan family grows to 3 children after  Jennifer loses her first child during pregnancy we see the Grogan family cope with Marley a dog that is often uncontrollable to one they can’t imagine being without. The stress Marley brings Jennifer after the births of her children is extremely trying, but Jennifer gets through it each and every time knowing that Marley is as much a  apart of the family as the others.

Each of the 3 children fall in love with Marley and the on screen shots of Wilson we see him either doing an impeccable acting job or Wilson truly is a dog lover. His affection in a number of scenes cannot go unnoticed and I wouldn’t be surprised if Wilson wanted to take the dogs that played Marley home. Anniston is likable and comes across well in her roll but there are no Oscar performances in this one. Aniston and Wilson both display a love for Marley even in the worst of times.

Marley and Me could rip your heart out especially dog lovers who have experienced the loss of a dog and having to put one down. The scenes are gut wrenching and children going to see this film do not expect to leave feeling light hearted and laughing, you won’t. If you are on a first date and you choose Marley and Me and your date has a dog you are in for a short night. After Marley and Me the only place a dog owner wants to go is home to his or her dog.

Marley and Me also did a very good job of casting its supporting cast Alan Arkin is outstanding as is Kathleen Turner and Eric Dane respectively in their rolls.

Marley and Me 3 out of 4 stars for dog owners

Marley and me not sure what the rating would be for none dog owners I have a dog and yes I went straight home after seeing Marley and Me to mine.

There is a poem that Jimmy Stewart read on Johnny Carson years ago about his dog name Bo, Marley and Me helped bring that poem to life.