... for something to happen. Really, nothing of importance happens in this film until 90 minutes have gone by. The next 20 minutes are moving but predictable, and then the movie is over.
No drama, no tension, no laughs. It's simply the story of a family and their dog going through typical things that families with dogs go through: torn pillows, jumping up, bathroom accidents. I kept thinking, anyone who has ever had a dog could have written this screenplay. I saw nothing creative at all. The family does go through changes like babies and new jobs, but there is no drama attached to these things. They just happen, and life continues. Funny how this movie makes momentous events such as these seem mundane.
And why is it called Marley & Me? I know the "Me" is Owen Wilson's character, but it seemed to me that Jennifer Aniston was just as much a part of Marley's life as he was. My guess is that the book dealt more with the male character than the movie did.
It's a warm enough movie, but if you're looking for an interesting story or plot, there is none. It's a bland, plain-vanilla flick. About an hour in, something awful happens, but not to Marley or his family. And the event serves no purpose other than to move the family to another home, which they could have done anyway. And sadly, the person to whom this tragedy happens is not seen again; it's as if their only purpose in the movie was to get hurt and then thrown away.
I think the idea was that through it all, the one constant thread was Marley. But while that's a good notion, it didn't make the movie interesting.
It seems an oxymoron that a movie in which nothing happens could be predictable. I was trying to compare it to something I already know, and I came up with the Brady Bunch. But no--the Brady Bunch was more interesting.
No drama, no tension, no laughs. It's simply the story of a family and their dog going through typical things that families with dogs go through: torn pillows, jumping up, bathroom accidents. I kept thinking, anyone who has ever had a dog could have written this screenplay. I saw nothing creative at all. The family does go through changes like babies and new jobs, but there is no drama attached to these things. They just happen, and life continues. Funny how this movie makes momentous events such as these seem mundane.
And why is it called Marley & Me? I know the "Me" is Owen Wilson's character, but it seemed to me that Jennifer Aniston was just as much a part of Marley's life as he was. My guess is that the book dealt more with the male character than the movie did.
It's a warm enough movie, but if you're looking for an interesting story or plot, there is none. It's a bland, plain-vanilla flick. About an hour in, something awful happens, but not to Marley or his family. And the event serves no purpose other than to move the family to another home, which they could have done anyway. And sadly, the person to whom this tragedy happens is not seen again; it's as if their only purpose in the movie was to get hurt and then thrown away.
I think the idea was that through it all, the one constant thread was Marley. But while that's a good notion, it didn't make the movie interesting.
It seems an oxymoron that a movie in which nothing happens could be predictable. I was trying to compare it to something I already know, and I came up with the Brady Bunch. But no--the Brady Bunch was more interesting.