Grade: B- | Genre: Drama Summary: I'd definitely recommend this to the pet owners out there. Regardless of how much of an angel your pet is, every animal has its days where they are wild like Marley, and its easy to see ourselves in these characters. Marley & Me is a family film aimed squarely at all those pet owners out there. You all know you who you are. You're the ones with bumper stickers proudly proclaiming, "my child drinks out of the toilet." You're the ones who keep silly things like doggy day cares in business. While watching a movie, you will not weep a tear when humans bite the dust, but if its a dog -- Niagara Falls here we come. Adapted from the book by the same name, Marley & Me was brought to the screen with none other than you in mind. The non-pet loving populace might see Marley & Me as little more than a puff piece, meant to bolster the careers of Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston while raking in some solid holiday coin. But to the pet owners out there, this may be your modern day Old Yeller.

We are introduced to newlyweds John (Owen Wilson) and Jennifer (Jennifer Aniston) who are busy making a new home for themselves in Tampa. John has just landed a job at the Tribune as a reporter, and Jennifer is also a newspaper woman at the crosstown Post. By nature, Jennifer is one of those super anal females who have their lives mapped out to the last minute detail. Sensing that she is barreling head long into her child bearing years, John decides to derail her for a while with a new Labrador puppy. While he's as cute as a button, he's also on clearance. Goodness knows why they never asked why this particular mutt was 20% off. They soon find out as little Marley proceeds to chew through couches, ransack the house, cry incessantly during storms and refuse to heed any command John and Jennifer send his way. After barreling over his doggy obedience counselor (Kathleen Turner) to get kicked out of camp, Marley is crowned the world's worst dog.

Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson are both solid in these roles. Films featuring a dog have a tendency to shove their human counter parts into the backseat like senseless idiots such as Beethoven. Owen Wilson shows that while comedy may be his specialty, portraying deeper emotional turmoil certainly isn't out of his range. Jennifer Aniston continues to show promise to take over Meg Ryan's mantle as romantic leading lady of her generation. She is beautiful without trying and shows the multiple facets of Jennifer's character with grace and poise. Alan Arkin also is a bright light, providing comic relief as John's newspaper editor.

Marley & Me works because of the emotional component of a dog, and what these animals mean to their owner's lives. For all his countless flaws and eternal puppy rambunctiousness, he is a member of the family and is loved every bit as much as he gives love to those around him. The screams of exasperation and vows to send him to the bad animal farm are always quickly drown out once he whips up those innocent eyes, begging for affection. At the end of the day, the dog may be bad, but they can never accept that Marley's motives were anything other than playfulness and viving for a small wedge of attention in their busy lives.

I'd definitely recommend this film to the pet owners out there. Regardless of how much of an angel your pet is, every animal has its days where they are wild like Marley, and its easy to see ourselves in these characters. If you aren't a pet owner, I certainly couldn't blame you for writing this film off as little more than a gushy love poem to a crazy dog with little substance underneath. This film definitely has a target audience in mind so plan accordingly.

Release Date: December 25, 2008