Marley & Me

2008

Marley & Me

Critics Consensus

Pet owners should love it, but Marley and Me is only sporadically successful in wringing drama and laughs from its scenario.

62%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 138

75%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 264,852
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Movie Info

As the snow falls on their wedding night, newlyweds John and Jenny Grogan decide to leave behind the harsh winters of Michigan and head south to begin their new lives in West Palm Beach, Fla. They obtain jobs as journalists at competing local newspapers, buy their first home, and begin to make their way through the challenges of a new marriage, new careers and, possibly, the life-changing decision to start a family. Unsure of his preparedness for raising children, John confesses his fears to his friend and fellow journalist Sebastian, who comes up with the perfect solution: John should get Jenny a puppy. The Grogans adopt the cute, 12-pound yellow Labrador, who in no time at all, grows into a 100-pound steamroller of unbridled energy that turns the Grogan home into a disaster area. He flunks obedience school, chews off dry-wall, takes a bite out of the sofa, overturns garbage cans, steals a Thanksgiving turkey, consumes pillows and flowers, drinks toilet water, and chases the UPS guy. Even a newly-purchased, expensive necklace isn't safe from Marley's voracious antics. Amidst the mayhem he generates through the years, Marley sees the Grogans through the ups and downs of family life, through job and home changes, and most of all, through the myriad challenges of a growing family. As John and Jenny come to realize, Marley--"the world's worst dog"--somehow brings out the best in them.
  • Rating:
    PG (for thematic material, some suggestive content and language)
  • Genre:
    Comedy
  • Directed By:
    David Frankel
  • Written By:
    Scott Frank, Don Roos
  • In Theaters:
     wide
  • On Disc/Streaming:
  • Box Office:
    $143,084,510
  • Runtime:
  • Studio:
    20th Century Fox

Cast

Owen Wilson
as John Grogan
Jennifer Aniston
as Jenny Grogan
Alan Arkin
as Arnie Klein
Eric Dane
as Sebastian
Kathleen Turner
as Ms. Kornblut
Haley Bennett
as Lisa
Ann Dowd
as Dr. Platt
Clarke Peters
as Editor
Nathan Gamble
as Patrick
Finley Jacobsen
as Conor (Age 8)
Lucy Merriam
as Colleen (Age 5)
Bryce Robinson
as Patrick (Age 7)
Ben Hyland
as Conor (Age 5)
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News & Interviews for Marley & Me

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Critic Reviews for Marley & Me

All Critics (138) | Top Critics (42) | Fresh (85) | Rotten (53)

  • In the cinema, all of us tough, cynical critics had tears welling in our eyes, swallowing hard; our lips, so often curled in a cheap sneer, were now trembling, because of the same desperately sad thought: "Owen Wilson used to be really good..."

    Mar 13, 2009 | Rating: 1/5 | Full Review…

    Peter Bradshaw

    Guardian
    Top Critic

  • There is something wildly odd about a film that measures human happiness with the whims of a dog.

    Mar 13, 2009 | Rating: 1/5 | Full Review…

    James Christopher

    Times (UK)
    Top Critic

  • Evidently contrived and something of an ungainly hybrid, the film shares its canine protagonist's facility for wearing down your resistance.

    Mar 13, 2009 | Rating: 3/6 | Full Review…

    Trevor Johnston

    Time Out
    Top Critic

  • Given the jaunty promise of the early scenes, the drawn-out denouement is a mawkish disappointment.

    Jan 2, 2009 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

    Sandra Hall

    Sydney Morning Herald
    Top Critic

  • Wilson may always appear a little too flaky to be bankable as a romantic lead, but set Aniston aside and this could be the purest love story he'll ever get.

    Jan 2, 2009 | Rating: 2.5/5 | Full Review…

    Jake Wilson

    The Age (Australia)
    Top Critic

  • The dog -- or the many dogs who play Marley through the years -- also delivers some of the funniest scenes.

    Dec 29, 2008

    Ben Mankiewicz

    At the Movies
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (138)

Audience Reviews for Marley & Me

  • Mar 19, 2017
    The film offers nothing but a cute doggy. Owen Wilson and Jennifer Anniston have one of the least convincing chemistry I've ever witnessed.
    Sylvester K Super Reviewer
  • Apr 19, 2014
    Owen Wilson is really good in this movie about the world's worst dog and starting a family. Jennifer Aniston makes it work.
    Juli R Super Reviewer
  • Mar 11, 2012
    Sure it's a sad story but so what. Just because a film is sad doesn't mean it's good. The main reason I didn't like this was because the laughs didn't contribute to the plot. They where just an extra side note. A good comedy would make jokes from the plot have then actually build up the plot. The film barley had a real plot. The plot just went from event to event. What I did enjoy about the film is Jennifer Aniston. But whether a film had an actress I really like has no influence towards my rating whats so ever. If your a pet and animal lover then this is for you.
    Eduardo T Super Reviewer
  • Feb 04, 2012
    i'm a sucker for dog films and this hit a cord with me. I loved marley and related to the story
    Brendan N Super Reviewer
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