Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageMarley & Me (2008)
Director: David Frankel
Movie review
From Time Out London
With its child-friendly rating and top billing for an unruly golden Labrador, ‘Marley & Me’ leads one to expect a straightforward saga of man’s best friend. But this film is a more complicated animal. Although it hardly stints on Marley’s mischief-making appetite for frolicking naughtiness and chomping on just about anything he can get between his incisors, it’s mostly a bittersweet portrait of a couple settling down to family life and feeling like they’ve sold out on their youthful ambitions.Owen Wilson (carrying his own baggage of off-screen melancholia) plays the real-life Miami journo whose series of popular columns on life with a four-legged miscreant got the ball rolling. Meanwhile, Jennifer Aniston is a sympathetic match as the reporter girlfriend-turned-spouse who leaves work to raise their kids after juggling both proves a nightmare.
With its peachy star casting and impeccably art-directed lifestyles, the latest from ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ director David Frankel is too glossy to cut very deep, but there’s a core of truth as we see a family coming to shape itself around the loveable pooch they initially bought as a child substitute, all the while squaring up career sacrifices against the restorative recompense of domesticity.
Marley himself (played by 22 different dogs, don’t you know!) frequently takes a back seat when work and childcare issues dominate the proceedings, but he looms large in a final reel that draws tears, and feels like it’s earned them. Evidently contrived and something of an ungainly hybrid, the film shares its canine protagonist’s facility for wearing down your resistance.
Author: Trevor Johnston
Time Out London issue 2012, Mar 12-18 2009
User reviews of this film
-
- Why spoil it? said...
- Posted on Apr 10 2009 16:20 WHY did ppl decide they had to spoil it by telling the ending? Anyone looking 4 reviews - DON'T look any further down the list - they will ruin it for you, as they have done for me. Apparently it is a gr8 film, so just go see it and not read these reviews.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- ARCHGATE said...
- Posted on Apr 10 2009 12:46 Truthteller - Here is a priceless tip for you. When viewing a film it is advisable to have your eyes and ears open. Then I suggest you engage your brain and then comprehend what is happening on the screen. Peace on your messages.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- mmm said...
- Posted on Apr 10 2009 10:35 this is a great movie rec it to everyone
- Report as inappropriate
-
- TRUTH TELLER said...
- Posted on Apr 10 2009 10:02 I only mention the ending because Kate has already given it away. Not really a good idea Kate.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- TRUTH TELLER said...
-
Posted on Apr 10 2009 09:57
I'm afraid Kate rather sums this film up for me: "Nothing happens, then the dog dies".
While I really like Jennifer Aniston I can never fathom out why Owen Wilson is starring in any movie. - Report as inappropriate
-
- kate said...
- Posted on Apr 09 2009 23:53 the most boring film i have ever seen. nothing happens it. then the dog dies.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- kayleigh said...
- Posted on Apr 09 2009 22:53 OMG this film is brilliant i went to c it wid ma bezzie we were both bubbling and she NEVA cries i wud defo recomend it n all the people that say it is rubbish they are not in this world i thought it was one of the best films i have eva seen!!! :)
- Report as inappropriate
-
- morgan smith said...
- Posted on Apr 09 2009 19:00 i hate it
- Report as inappropriate
-
- carla said...
- Posted on Apr 09 2009 14:35 im real exsitedabout seeing the film im going later on tonight to see it!!! but im getting put off by some coments about the dog dieing........
- Report as inappropriate
-
- CONZO said...
- Posted on Apr 09 2009 12:28 THE DOG DIES !!!!!!!!! THERE YOU go i just saved u 2 hours of your life ........................ :)
- Report as inappropriate
-
- computer said...
-
Posted on Apr 09 2009 09:16
Omg! da best film eva! (apart from iron man, of course)
in da book u get more attatched to him than in the movies, cuz iv red the book and cn it once and cing it again 2day! :) - Report as inappropriate
-
- Emma said...
-
Posted on Apr 07 2009 22:07
I thought this was absolutely brilliant! Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston were great! Story was funny and sad but kept me and my boyfriend hooked the whole way through. Loved it. Captures a true image of a family life with all the ups and downs. Definately recommend it, and even my fella liked it, and I didnt expect him to. Appeals to everyone, was crying buckets at some bits.
A MUST SEE!! :D ********* - Report as inappropriate
-
- pauline said...
- Posted on Apr 05 2009 19:23 went to see this film and thought it really good, the ending was really sad and most people in the cinema had a tear in there eye including me. Kept me engrossed all the way through.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- XD said...
-
Posted on Apr 05 2009 18:05
The Dog Dies???
=[
Noooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!
I Wanted To Watch It But If He/She Dies........
Can You Leave A Comment If Youve Seen It And You Think Its Gd Snd What Bit Is Gd..Or If It Was Bad... - Report as inappropriate
-
- Meganxxx said...
- Posted on Apr 04 2009 20:45 I think this film is great man i love it. i went cinema wiv ma mate 2 c it nd i cudnt stop cryin at the end lmaoxx
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: David Frankel
Cast: Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson, Kathleen Turner, Alan Arkin, Eric Dane, Nathan Gamble, Haley Bennett full cast
Rated: PG
Duration: 115 mins
UK Release: Mar 13 2009
US Release: Dec 25 2008
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Review: Penélope Cruz more raunchy than ever in 'Nine'
Dave Calhoun reports on Rob Marshall's Oscar-touted musical with Daniel Day-Lewis playing a troubled director
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Jim Jarmusch on 'The Limits of Control'
Jim Jarmusch has followed ‘Broken Flowers’ with an esoteric crime mystery. Dave Calhoun speaks to him from his New York office
Richard Linklater on 'Me and Orson Welles'
Dave Calhoun meets the 49-year-old, Houston-born filmmaker Richard Linklater to discuss his new comedy
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now