Falc04

Took the kids to see this last night, and basically reacted the same way. Really took a lot not to tear up at the end of this film. And the fact that we had to put our yellow lab down last year with a similiar sympton as Marley's, didn't make the ending any easier.

Michael Corvin

Just saw the flick last night with my wife and we loved it. I'm surprised at the negative reactions here. I had no idea what to expect going into it, as I was unfamiliar with the book. All I knew was that Aniston & Owen were in it with a dog.

I think it is more of a couples movie. It's more about making plans with your new wife only to have life take it's own course. The dog is just one part of the equation. The movie was just as much about their careers, having kids, getting a house, struggling as a couple, etc. as much as it was about the dog.

So I think to truly appreciate the little nuances of their relationship and the course life leads them you need to be in a similar relationship or have gone through it yourself. I'm married with two kids and have an older dog, so it was pretty relatable for me. Despite owning a dog(dog came with the wife), I'm not a dog person in the least but loved the movie.

Personally I really dug the casting. Aniston was great and it was nice seeing Owen Wilson in a straight "non-jackass" role.

He's not kidding. Like I said, I'm not a dog person, but it took a lot to not let it out in front of my wife in the theater. Sure you know it's coming, but the way it is handled is what get's to you.

So the movie is based on the book, was the book based on a true story? That might explain the 'blandness' some felt it had. I thought everything was done or handled in a realistic way and not the 'Hollywood-movie relationship' way. The only thing that really bugged me was the timeframe in the movie. Somewhere between 10-13 years pass in the film but the filmmakers did nothing to age Aniston & Owen in any way. Or the dog for that matter. Small gripe but it stood out for me.

Patman

Maybe it was my viewing, but the dog aged alot, from puppy to old dog.

Michael Corvin

I was thinking more of along the lines of once he was full grown through to the end of the film. He didn't look any older in the final frames than when he did an hour ago when he first appeared fully grown. It's a small nitpick.

The Bus

He did look a lot older to me. You can tell they used different dogs. But Labs age well, from my experience.

My favorite part of the movie was the shot-on-video montage that covered a few years of their life. I don't know what it was about it, but I really liked it.

davidh777

Haven't read the book but the movie credits the writer as the Owen Wilson character so I assume so

I was thinking at the time, "Man, it probably cost them a lot to shoot those two minutes!"

toddly6666

I was expecting a children's film, and I got something a bit darker. The film isn't that funny, almost a serious flick. And how is this film rated PG with chilren's film stamping all over it? This movie mentioned bong hits, and had sex all over the film. I guess it's the same board that rated Prince Narnia...It should have been rated PG-13.

Michael Corvin

It's a drama and not a comedy. Your expectations got the best of you.

Sex all over the film? Did they even show Aniston & Owen having sex? The only 'racy' thing I remember were Aniston's headlights and McSteamy hitting on scantly clad women. Do you really think a child under 12 knows what a bong is to catch the reference? If so the problem lies elsewhere and not with the movie.

As for Caspian, it's a bloodless affair akin to Star Wars. There are battles and people go down, but there is nothing explicit shown on camera.

Larry C.

I saw this last night and man.... It takes a lot to get me emotional, but by the end I was ALL chocked up and noticed a tear or two. I really enjoyed it. I've had a couple of dogs like Marley and it really hit home.

toddly6666

I'll take EIGHT BELOW over this film. Marley & Me was just too long and didn't have any story - it's like a Lifetime movie...eventhough it's all true, the ending was a cheap way of stirring some emotions from an overall emotionless film, and that type of ending will always make anyone cry. If the movie was 5 minutes long and had the same ending, I would still be bawling as well......it's a fair film, but I have to agree that Wilson and Aniston did some decent acting. And I'm happy it made a lot of money, because I love animal flicks...

calhoun07

I got around to seeing this and my problems with this movie are the same as the problems I have with Fireproof: the acting isn't that great, the movie isn't that great, and people are lapping both movies up regardless of the flaws because there are so few movies that cater to them that are actually GOOD.

The fact that the ending is fairly obvious to anybody who's heard or read somebody say that they bawled like a baby at the end of this movie (I mean, COME ON, if you can't figure out what happens at the end based on that alone...in a DOG movie, no less...stay away from the cinema) aside, Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston are just terrible in this movie. Neither of them can act, and they read their lines exactly the same in any movie they are in. Not that this movie required any Oscar worthy performances, but still...I'm just saying.

I understand that the movie is based on a series of newspaper columns that were collected in a book, and the stories told within the columns/book are all the crazy, wild things Marley did. Oh, look, Marley is not leash trained! Oh, look, Marley tore up the house from the floor up! Oh, look, Marley is a TERROR!

As a dog lover, I came away feeling quite cheated. Why? Because, like Fireproof, this movie only serves to preach to the already converted. The only people who are going to love this movie are already sold on it before even seeing it. And, like Fireproof's fans who will say you must be an Anti Christ if you don't like that movie, people will say you MUST hate dogs if you don't just LOVE Marley and Me. Well, I didn't love it and I love my dog just fine, than you. But the main reason I felt cheated is because I wanted to see more bonding moments with Marley and his owners. Sure, we got a few glimpses here and there...Jennifer Aniston dancing with the dog in the house, the dog waiting for the kids when they get off the bus, Owen Wilson having a few quiet moments here and there with Marley.

But, to me, those moments are too far and few between. It isn't too long before we are back to another of Marley's mad cap crazy moments. Oh, he chewed up a thousand dollar couch AGAIN! I guess they'll just buy another couch!

I realize the quiet moments with a dog are hard to capture on film, and could make for some boring screen time. In the hands of a bad director, that is. But if they had been able to capture some more moments like that, I might have been a little more easy on the movie.

The audience needs to be bonded to this dog, and we aren't really that bonded to the dog. At least I wasn't. When the end comes, I cried because I thought of my own dog and I thought of dogs I had before. Not because I was sad about what was going on with Marley.

The director and those involved can pat themselves on the back because they managed to get people emotionally invested in the end. But it's still not a good dog movie. And in movies, good dog movies are far and few between. Which is why I demand more from dog movies than I might from some other films, because if you are a filmmaker and you know you get a shot at making one, make it GOOD.

It's like "horror" movies that can get an audience to jump because they put a FLASH of some quick shocking image with a LOUD sound in the middle of a quiet scene and the audience feels, "Oh, that scared me." No, it shocked you. It's a false emotion, don't buy into it. I don't like movies that create false emotions. It seems good at the time, but leaves a bad aftertaste in my mouth. Marley and Me seemed good at first, but the more I dwell on it the more I realize how disappointing it really was.

The main reason I compare it to Fireproof is because that movie is another one that is a sub genre that doesn't get very many good movies in it. And it really bothers me when people just rave and rave and rave about it, as if saying anything negative (and brutally honest) about it would mean they'd never see movies like that again.

I don't know how My Dog Skip compares to Marley and Me...I've never seen it. But I'd say the last good dog movie I saw was the remake of Lassie from a few years back.

hapgilmore

Saw it last night...liked it. I would give it 3 stars out of 4. And I'll admit, I cried at the end.

hapgilmore

and what was up with Kathleen Turner? Man did she get UGLY, was that intentional or not?

Patman

I heard she has a medical condition and was taking sterioids to treat it.

http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_New...7991113410596/

Mopower

If you are a dog lover this is the last movie you should see unless you like being tortured the last 15 min of the movie. Hell I hate dogs and I cried at the end just because it made me think of pets I've had in the past that needed to be put down. My g/f cried for about 15 min after the movie. They really didn't need to show the dog on the vets table and the vet pulling out the needle did they? They should have just had him at the vet and then cut to the burial scene.

OldBoy

i think you got it wrong.

this is a dog lover's movie through and through and celebrates the spirit of "person's best friend" to the fullest. from beginnings of life to death. it is a good film that drags at parts, but if you love dogs, then you love Marley and everything he and his family goes through. even the "unleashing on the beach" was a powerful moment and very effective.

it is powerful and important for kids to see and understand. you will have to coddle and console after, yes, but truthful to no end. i think it would be important for them to understand the eventuality without you, the parent, having to explain such a painful process in detail.

i was moved to real tears (with thoughts of past pets passing in my head) and watched the last 10 minutes with my 10 year-old Maltese on my lap and appreciate more and more the time i have with her and will cherish every moment and love her unconditionally.

fernsita

I have heard such good things about this movie. I don't know how I feel about a movie surrounding a pet, but my friends even enjoyed this movie. I heard it is sad at the end. I might rent it soon. I love Jennifer Aniston, but her with Owen Wilson isn't believable to me for some reason.

Tommy_Harn

I have to say I was pleasantly suprised by Marley & Me. I enjoyed the book, but I must admit I was disappointed when Wilson and Anniston were cast. Nothing against them, but I felt having such well known stars would somehow be a distraction to the overall mood of the film. However, I felt their performances were pretty appropriate.

Being a lab owner, and recently starting a family, this movie really hit home (even moreso than the book).

blued888

Was extremely surprised how this movie turned out. Wasn't expecting too much since a labrador was on the cover.

Mopower

It's a movie about a dog what did you expect to be on the cover?

Gilgamesh1082

I got around to finally seeing the movie the other day on Blu-Ray since I couldn't find anyone willing to go to the theater to see it with me. This complaint sums up my only disappointment in the film. We really did need some more of the quiet scenes from the book to help bond with the dog more. I still cried like an infant at the end, damn you Grogan, but I'm a dog lover, the last 20 minutes are supposed to make you cry.

My favorite scene from the book didn't make the cut, and it irks me. Mostly because I felt like it was one of those really good, bonding moments. The scene where the neighbor kid gets stabbed, Marley just runs off, barking. Granted in the deleted scenes, it turns out he cornered the assailant in a gas station 3 miles away, but it felt out of place. I wish they had stuck with the original story, where Marley stood at the end of the driveway, ears alert and eyes covering the street. Hackles rising, a low growl emanating from throat. The instant where John knew that any would be attacker would have to kill Marley before even getting a chance at him and his family. In the book, that's where I started loving the goofy terror. At least they kept in the scene where and Marley consoles the couple over it just being a big hairy shoulder to cry on.

toddly6666

It's a stupid movie. If you fast-forwarded to the final 10 minutes of the movie, it would still be emotional. You don't need an hour and a half of filler to get emotional over seeing a dog dying. If you show a 5-minute clip of any dog dying, it should get anyone to cry.

Charlie Goose

Wow, as everyone says, this was bland as can be. And long, almost 2 hours. The damn dog was so annoying, I was rooting for it to croak. However a few tears did well up during the funeral.

This was my favorite scene:

big whoppa

I saw it in a theater and though it had its moments, the movie was pretty bland overall. I'm surprised it did as well as it did even though the book was a best seller. And it really dragged.

spainlinx0

Had to comment since I saw this movie, and was reminded in an other forum thread about it. I hated the characters in this movie. I thought they were HORRENDOUS dog owners who seemed willfully ignorant about how to properly train a dog. I don't know if the behaviors were exaggerated for the movie (never read the book or any of the articles), but they seemed to make no effort to train this dog other than that one weird training scene. A lot of effort there guys, great job.

I know I probably took it too seriously in that respect, but being a dog owner who puts some effort (nothing crazy, I'm not doing schutzhund or anything) into making sure their dog is well-behaved it just infuriated me how shitty they let that dog behave.

Of course I'm sad when the dog dies. That's an easy emotion to drag out of people. I have had to put a dog to sleep before, and it's horrible, but I didn't feel bad for the people in this movie. I just felt bad when reminded of my own personal feelings during that time.

The problem was, I never said to myself, "man that's a really crazy bad dog. How funny." I just thought those are really two very selfish and lazy dog owners who have made zero real effort into fixing this dog's behavioral problems. Also, Owen Wilson's character was so whiny and unsympathetic that I couldn't stand him.