Barry Wetcher/ FoxReview in a Hurry: Sure, the golden Lab is cute. And golden couple Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson are cute. But the Marley story, based on John Grogan's memoir about family life with an unruly mutt, has about as much traction as a puppy on a linoleum floor.
The Bigger Picture: Must love dogs. And there are enough folks who do, who will be wooed by the light-hearted trailer and won over by naughty-doggy antics, to make Marley best in show. However, the movie aspires to more—a seriocomic portrait of marriage and midlife crisis. And in that regard, it drops the well-chewed ball.
Newly hired newspaper reporter John Grogan (Wilson) and his newlywed wife, Jenny (Aniston), adopt Lab retriever Marley as a primer for parenthood. But their adorable pup soon turns into a terror, running their lives, destroying/eating everything and getting booted out of obedience school.
Children eventually join the Grogan fam, and John finds his niche at the newspaper, chronicling adventures with the "world's worst dog." Despite his growing readership and salary, John still hopes to cover hard-hitting stories. And Jenny, having given up her own journalism career, hopes for a break from the crying kids and crazy canine.
What worked as a series of columns, which Grogan spun into a best-seller, feels choppy and episodic here with no narrative momentum. They have a baby, move into a house, John gets a promotion. They have another baby, move into a bigger house, John gets another promotion. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Zoom-happy director David Frankel connects all this with countless sequences of Marley being, well, bad. Aniston and Wilson do achieve a comfortable, credible rapport but are leashed by their bland characters and a relationship that takes backseat to pet schtick.
One last bone to pick: It's difficult to invest in John's suburban angst, questioning his choices while looking around at his huge home, pretty wife, healthy kids and cushy career. Boo-friggin'-hoo. Or rather, bow-friggin'-wow.
Marley will still fetch millions.
The 180—a Second Opinion: Hard-core dog fans will howl and drool over every expected scene of Marley pooping, peeing, drinking from the toilet, chasing things/people, humping things/people, etc., etc.