Marley & Me

Released Year: 2008

Directed by David Frankel

Casted by:

 Owen Wilson as Johnny "John" Grogan

Jennifer Aniston as Jennifer "Jenny" "Jen" Grogan

Eric Dane as Sebastian Tunney

 Story:

Soon after their wedding, John and Jenny Grogan escape the brutal Michigan winters and relocate to a cottage in South Florida, where they are hired as reporters for competing newspapers. At The Palm Beach Post, Jenny immediately receives prominent front-page assignments, while at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, John finds himself writing obituaries and two-paragraph articles about mundane news like a fire at the local garbage dump.

When John senses Jenny is contemplating motherhood, his friend and co-worker Sebastian Tunney suggests the couple adopt a dog to see if they're ready to raise a family. From a litter of newborn yellow Labrador retrievers they select Marley (named after reggae singer Bob Marley), who immediately proves to be incorrigible. They take him to Ms. Kornblut, who firmly believes any dog can be trained, but when Marley refuses to obey commands, she expels him from her class.

Editor Arnie Klein offers John a twice-weekly column in which he can discuss the fun and foibles of everyday living. At first stumped for material, John realizes the misadventures of Marley might be the perfect topic for his first piece. Arnie agrees, and John settles into his new position. Marley continues to wreak havoc on the household, providing John with a wealth of material for his column, which becomes a hit with readers and helps increase the newspaper's circulation. Jenny becomes pregnant, but loses the baby early in her first trimester. She and John travel to Ireland for a belated honeymoon, leaving the rambunctious dog in the care of a young woman who finds him impossible to control, especially during the frequent thunderstorms that plague the area. Soon after returning from their vacation, Jenny discovers she is pregnant again, and this time she delivers a healthy boy, Patrick. When she has a second son, Connor, she opts to give up her job and become a stay-at-home mom, prompting John to take on a daily column for a pay increase. Due to the crime rate, the couple decides to move to a larger house in the safer neighborhood of Boca Raton, where Marley delights in swimming in the backyard pool.

Although she denies she is experiencing postpartum depression, Jenny exhibits all the symptoms, including a growing impatience with Marley and John, who asks Sebastian to care for the dog when Jenny insists they give him away. She quickly comes to realize he has become an indispensable part of the family and agrees he can stay. Sebastian accepts a job for The New York Times and moves away.

John celebrates his 40th birthday and later goes skinny dipping with Jenny in their swimming pool. Increasingly disenchanted with his job, he decides to accept a position as a reporter with The Philadelphia Inquirer with Jenny's blessing, and the family moves to a farm in rural Pennsylvania. John soon realizes that he is a better columnist than reporter and pitches the column idea to his editor. Life is idyllic until the aging Marley begins to show signs of arthritis and deafness. An attack of gastric dilatation volvulus almost kills him, but he recovers. When a second attack occurs, it becomes clear surgery will not help him, and Marley is euthanized with John at his side. The family pay their last respects to their beloved pet as they bury him beneath a tree in their front yard.

 L² Scored: 9/10 

L² Comment: 

This movie has been always in my top rank of "must-watch" movie; coz i'm a dog lover and a big fans for both Anniston & Wilson. Reason of not watching it so many years ago is because I insists to read the novel first before the movie. I have bought the novel many years already and it has been full of dust now and i still have no time to read it lol~ Well, i just couldn't wait but watch it just now.

The movie is based on John Grogan's same name novel in 2005, its simple and sweet. All these while you can see Marley has been part of the family and he occurs in all the things that they do. But of coz there's some scene which shown that this un-tame dog makes Anniston frustrated and she angrily ordered Wilson to give it away, but then she regret and feel sorry for what she has said. 

Dog's lifespan is much more shorter than human being. As Marley grew old, it sadly escape from the house and decided to die alone, out from its' master sighting. As the movie moving towards the end, it was very touching and i almost burst into tears. After this movie, i went out to hugged my two dogs... I love you guys too :)