MARLEY & ME

Director: David Frankel

Stars: Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, Eric Dane, Kathleen Turner, Alan Arkin

Year: 2008

Rating: PG

Above all else, Marley & Me is a love story. It might open with - and chronicle - the lives of newspaper writer John Grogan (Wilson) and his wife Jenny (Aniston), as they marry and create a life and family together ... all as John struggles to be taken seriously as a reporter ...

But at its heart (and anyone who's ever owned a dog should recognize this), the film is a love story between a man and his dog. A tearjerker, yes. Overly-long, maybe. Sentimental, definitely. But it's still a warmhearted tribute to the pains and pleasure of dog ownership - particularly for those who've ever had a dog that seemed impossible to control or train.

Owen Wilson, as John Grogan, turns in an effective performance that plays both the humor and heartstrings effectively. Soon after they marry and Jennifer secures herself a job at a different newspaper, John manages to secure a writing position at the Sun-Sentinel, where a close friend and fellow reporter named Sebastian (Eric Dane, in a nice, understated departure from "Grey's Anatomy") helped him to get a foot in the door. It seems John's had his share of being a slacker in life, but has recently gotten his act together - mostly thanks to meeting Jenny - and his marriage and new job all offer him a great start to a new life. It's not the greatest job, but he can handle it, and even though he's a bit jealous of the hot, headline-grabbing assignments Sebastian gets, overall John is finally a happy man.

A couple years into their marriage, when Jenny first starts to get the bug to have children, Sebastian advises John to get Jenny a puppy instead. A puppy, he figures, will hone and nurture Jenny's mothering instincts until the couple can better afford to have children. So as a birthday surprise, John takes Jenny to a home breeder, and from a box of Labrador puppies she picks the "clearance puppy" - a lively blond ball of fur marked lower in price than all the others that takes to Jenny immediately. John names him Marley.

To say Marley's a handful is a gross understatement, and over the years - as John and Jenny do finally have kids, and John starts his own column that often observes life through his days with Marley - Marley seems to remain a lovable, uncontrollable dog who howls at thunderstorms, chews or eats (or just plain swallows) everything in sight, and terrorizes any babysitter that Jenny tries to get for the kids. The Grogans, early on, even try to take Marley to dog obedience school, run by the strict Ms. Kornblut (Kathleen Turner, in a funny near-cameo) - but is thrown out of the class within minutes after knocking down the teacher and humping her leg.

To say much more would be to potentially give away an ending that anyone over ten could probably seen coming ... and God knows there's not much actual plot to the film ... but nevertheless, the emotional impact and message of the story will still reverberate through your mind long after the credits roll. The cast is really good in the film - including Oscar-winner Alan Arkin, who plays John's boss at the Sun-Sentinel. But based on some of the negative "reviews" I've read about this film, I would say if you are watching it to see a light-hearted, goofy romantic comedy about a dog, just be warned that the light-hearted comedic touches are there ... but the film also has its dramatic touches, for sure - some of which might be hard for some to bear.

But all good love stories have both humor and heartbreak in them, and Marley & Me is no exception. As John Grogan says, late in the film: "A dog doesn't care if you're rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart, and he will give you his."

And as any dog owner will tell you, amen to that. ***1/2 - Reel Cool-Reel Awesome