Marley & Me
Rent & Buy
A newly married couple, in the process of starting a family, learn many of life's important lessons from their trouble-loving retriever, Marley. Packed with plenty of laughs to lighten the load, the film explores the highs and lows of marriage, maturity and confronting one's own mortality, as seen through the lens of family life with a dog.
What critics thought
Critics landed in genuinely different places on this one: some found it a disarmingly warm portrait of family life and the human-canine bond, while others felt the dog's antics swamped any real drama or comedy, leaving a film that coasts on sentiment rather than earning it. Wilson and Aniston's chemistry drew consistent approval, but the episodic, conflict-light structure frustrated many reviewers who wanted more than pet tricks holding the story together. Audiences responded far more warmly than critics overall.
“the single most endearing and authentic movie about the human-canine connection in decades. As directed by David Frankel, though, it's also something more: a disarmingly enjoyable, wholehearted comic vision of the happy messiness of family life.”
Owen Gleiberman·Entertainment Weekly
“the relentless gooey yuckiness and fatuous stereotyping in this weepy feelbad comedy gave me the film critic's equivalent of a boiling hot nose”
Peter Bradshaw·The Guardian
“Mawkish? Sometimes. But often very funny and occasionally very moving.”
Carrie Rickey·The Philadelphia Inquirer
“Wilson and Aniston demonstrate why they are gifted comic actors. They have a relationship that's not too sitcomish, not too sentimental, mostly smart and realistic”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
Parents guide
- Violence
- mild
- Sex
- moderate
- Profanity
- moderate
- Substances
- none
- Intensity
- moderate
Genres
Comedy, Family
Cast & Crew
David FrankelDirector
Owen WilsonJohn
Jennifer AnistonJenny
Eric DaneSebastian
Kathleen TurnerMs. Kornblut
Alan ArkinArnie Klein
Nathan GamblePatrick Age 10
Haley BennettLisa
Ann DowdDr. Platt
Clarke PetersEditor
Finley JacobsenConor Age 8
Bryce RobinsonPatrick Age 7
Theodore ShapiroComposer
Scott FrankWriter
Don RoosWriter
Florian BallhausCinematographyMarley & Me
A newly married couple, in the process of starting a family, learn many of life's important lessons from their trouble-loving retriever, Marley. Packed with plenty of laughs to lighten the load, the film explores the highs and lows of marriage, maturity and confronting one's own mortality, as seen through the lens of family life with a dog.
What critics thought
Critics landed in genuinely different places on this one: some found it a disarmingly warm portrait of family life and the human-canine bond, while others felt the dog's antics swamped any real drama or comedy, leaving a film that coasts on sentiment rather than earning it. Wilson and Aniston's chemistry drew consistent approval, but the episodic, conflict-light structure frustrated many reviewers who wanted more than pet tricks holding the story together. Audiences responded far more warmly than critics overall.
“the single most endearing and authentic movie about the human-canine connection in decades. As directed by David Frankel, though, it's also something more: a disarmingly enjoyable, wholehearted comic vision of the happy messiness of family life.”
Owen Gleiberman·Entertainment Weekly
“the relentless gooey yuckiness and fatuous stereotyping in this weepy feelbad comedy gave me the film critic's equivalent of a boiling hot nose”
Peter Bradshaw·The Guardian
“Mawkish? Sometimes. But often very funny and occasionally very moving.”
Carrie Rickey·The Philadelphia Inquirer
“Wilson and Aniston demonstrate why they are gifted comic actors. They have a relationship that's not too sitcomish, not too sentimental, mostly smart and realistic”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
Parents guide
- Violence
- mild
- Sex
- moderate
- Profanity
- moderate
- Substances
- none
- Intensity
- moderate
Genres
Comedy, Family
Cast & Crew
David FrankelDirectorOwen WilsonJohnJennifer AnistonJennyEric DaneSebastianKathleen TurnerMs. KornblutAlan ArkinArnie KleinNathan GamblePatrick Age 10Haley BennettLisaAnn DowdDr. PlattClarke PetersEditorFinley JacobsenConor Age 8Bryce RobinsonPatrick Age 7Theodore ShapiroComposerScott FrankWriterDon RoosWriterFlorian BallhausCinematographyRent & Buy