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Marley & Me
20th Century Fox

Marley & Me reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 53 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
6.3 out of 10
based on 29 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 52 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: PG for thematic material, some suggestive content and language

Starring Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, Alan Arkin, Eric Dane, and Kathleen Turner

John and Jenny were just beginning their life together. They were young and in love, with a perfect little house and not a care in the world. Then they brought home Marley, a wiggly yellow furball of puppy love. Life would never be the same. (20th Century Fox)


GENRE(S): Comedy  
WRITTEN BY: Don Roos
Scott Frank
 
DIRECTED BY: David Frankel  
RELEASE DATE: Theatrical: December 25, 2008 
RUNNING TIME: 123 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

91
Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
Wilson has a scene near the end with Marley that's the most wrenchingly tender acting of his career.
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75
ReelViews James Berardinelli
It's an enjoyable and unpretentious perspective of life that reminds us how important and rewarding the little things can be.
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75
Chicago Tribune Jessica Reaves
And then there's Alan Arkin, who, as John's editor, is hilarious and dry--it's frankly a shame he's not onscreen for every single scene.
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75
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
When Marley is not on the screen, 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.
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75
Miami Herald Connie Ogle
Marley & Me gets so many of the details right, particularly in its final act, when it turns into a five-hanky weeper.
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75
Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
The humans, particularly the wistful Wilson, deadpan Alan Arkin (as Grogan's editor) and Nathan Gamble, a 10-year-old who plays the eldest Grogan child, are very affecting. Aniston, who has great offbeat comic timing, doesn't quite find her rhythm here.
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75
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
Looks to be this season's family animal comedy.
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75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen
Never brilliant but always solid and often wry, Marley & Me is what it celebrates -- an amiable overachiever.
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75
Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
Wilson, who has never made the film in which he convincingly played sincere, turns out to be a wise choice to play John Grogan.
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70
Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek
Marley & Me gets so much surprisingly right. It may be designed to reach a broad audience, but it doesn't pander.
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67
Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
Sweet and wise and often laugh-out-loud funny (just like Grogan's book), Marley & Me isn't just for dog people; it's just not for Cruella De Vil.
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63
Boston Globe Wesley Morris
The movie is torn. It wants to honestly explore the natural wear-and-tear of the Grogan marriage. But it also seems OK with being something that could pass as a midseason replacement on ABC.
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63
Premiere Olivia Putnal
Owen Wilson manages to break his customary comic relief persona and is adept at playing a little "Father Knows Best"; the yellow lab does a good job too.
Read Full Review
60
The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
A warm and fuzzy family movie, but you do wish that at least once someone would upstage the dog.
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60
Variety Todd McCarthy
This perky, episodic film is as broad and obvious as it could be, but delivers on its own terms thanks to sparky chemistry between its sunny blond stars, Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston, and the unabashed emotion-milking of the final reel.
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60
Los Angeles Times Betsy Sharkey
An imperfect, messy and sometimes trying film that has moments of genuine sweetness and humor sprinkled in between the saccharine and the sadness.
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50
TV Guide Cammila Albertson
As a modest little dramedy about the everyday adventures of starting a family, Marley & Me is pretty solid, but as a movie about the joy and heartbreak of owning a dog, it goes straight for the jugular.
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50
Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall
The end, a drawn-out death scene, is manipulative and, contrary to the movie's feel-good marketing, likely to upset youngsters.
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50
Washington Post Philip Kennicott
There are three fine performances lost in this otherwise middling film. Alan Arkin makes a wonderfully gruff newspaper editor who does just about as much barking as Marley. Jennifer Aniston makes the most of the rather slender figure of Jennifer Grogan, creating a believably human picture of a career woman who gives it up for the kids. And then there's the dog that plays Marley.
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50
USA Today Claudia Puig
Marley & Me might be easy to watch, but -- even for die-hard canine lovers -- it's as easy to forget.
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50
The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
Could not be more ordinary.
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50
San Francisco Chronicle Walter Addiego
This love letter to man's best friend will make dog fanciers roll over and do tricks. It's so warmhearted, you'll want to run out and hug the nearest big, sloppy mutt. And while you're watching it, have your handkerchief ready.
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40
New York Daily News Joe Neumaier
If characters talking to dogs and dog reaction shots are some of your favorite things, add some stars to this review.
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40
The New York Times Stephen Holden
Bland, obsequious adaptation of John Grogan’s best-selling memoir.
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38
Rolling Stone Peter Travers
Watching the stars try to out-cutesy the mutt is one for the puke bucket.
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38
New York Post Kyle Smith
We watched a story of a Labrador. Who eats the couch and disobeys. I said to Lady, "It's a labra-bore."
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30
Village Voice Jim Ridley
Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston relegate Marley to a lifestyle accessory in his own biopic.
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30
Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
You'd have to be made of granite to resist all the charms of a free-spirited, 100-pound Lab. Yet the production manages, against heavy odds, to make its canine star an incorrigible bore.
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30
Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar
Not many actors could do justice to the vanilla story presented by Grogan and screenwriters Scott Frank and Don Roos, but Wilson and Aniston – two of the blandest, most uninteresting actors working today – are just the actors to pull it off.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 6.3 (out of 10) based on 52 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Caitlin K. gave it a9:
Sad, but SOOOOO good.

Sara M gave it an8:
This was the sweetest movie ever! EXtremly well balanced with humor, sadness and it was one of owen wilson best movies! SPOILER: youll probably cry at the end!

John B gave it a10:
"The more people I meet every day the more I like my dog" Those who did not like this movie / book clearly are not dog people and frankly probably a*holes. If you are not a dog person you should not be seeing a movie about the connection a man has with his dog.

Jasmin gave it a9:
I thought the movie was funny, but realistic. It portrays the couple as a "real" couple with worries and stress like everyone else. The relationship they have with their animal is heartwarming. If you are an animal lover or had a childhood experience with a family dog this movie is the one for you. I absolutely loved it. There wasn't a dry eye in the entire theater. From youngster of 10 to adult in their 50's and 60's were teary.

CA E. gave it an8:
A must-see family film. Very moving and helps to put life, and those things that are REALLY important, into perspective.

dgggg W. gave it a10:
This was an amazing movie, sure it was dreary. But no, it still made me cry and laugh. This is like that Curious Case movie, life is full of surprises, and in a dog's life, things happen in it to cause some sort of situation.

Celia B. gave it a7:
Wasn't amazing. But still really worth it.

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