HOLLYWOOD HUES
Canine capers

David Frankel’s Marley & Me is a heart-warming doggie story, writes Ervell E. Menezes

TALK about dog films and a string of them come to mind. We grew up on those loveable Lassie films. Much later came the adorable little Benji. Then, a host of others, including 101 Dalmatians. But when it comes to all-round drama, humour, warmth, love and pathos, the latest of them Marley & Me is hard to beat.

Based on a novel of the same name by John Grogan, it is a delightful two-hour romp with two amusing, upwardly mobile redheads John (Owen Wilson) and Jenny Grogin (Jennifer Aniston) beginning on their honeymoon and goes on to additions to the family, first that cute, loveable but very destructive labrador Marley, named after the reggae singer Bob Marley. Then come the pregnancies followed by two sons and a daughter.

They are both journalists, John a reporter who turns out to be an excellent columnist and Jenny, a social columnist. Convinced by his editor Arnie (Alan Arkin) to make the switch it is doggie stories he specialises in and don’t we know the inspiration. Thanks to an imaginative screenplay by Scott Frank and Don Ross, Marley & Me covers much ground and a variety of anecdotes and the crisp editing imbues it with a staccato pace. Things keep happening double quick and we virtually breeze through this beautifully shot entertainer.

It may be a little too slapstick with Marley’s destructive escapades but director David Frankel is able to sensitively project the predicament of today’s working couples, their petty and king-size fights as the children keep coming and Jenny opts to stay at home after the second. Frankel’s versatility is commendable because this movie is touching and heart-warming in contrast to his earlier cold and incisive The Devil Wears Prada.

Oh yes, there’s John’s companion and fellow journalist Sebastian (Eric Dane), handsome, single and a Casanova who covers major world events, the exact opposite of John who can’t help envying him. The growing change in the couple’s relationship is lucidly captured with petty and major problems mostly centred on the dog and Jenny having staying at home. At one stage, he is forced the give Marley to Sebastian for a few days.

The variety of locales helps the attention span and so does the racy narrative with a good mix of humour and anxiety. The kids Patrick (Nathan Gamble), Conor (Finlay Jacobson) and Colleen (Lucy Merrian) are cute to say the least and the couple is forced to make adjustments, not all willingly. And then comes the dramatic twist.

How the family copes with the crisis is easily the most moving part of the film and Marleys variety of moods are beautifully captured. Sorrow enters the heart like an iron and is sure to well in tears in the most hardened, cynical eyes. It is a deeply moving climax depicting the infinite love humans have for their pets. Dog lovers, especially, will find it unbearable. Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston are both very convincing in the lead roles, doing full justice to their challenging parts and veteran Alan Arkin is delightful as the curt but warm editor and reels off some choice lines in inimitable style. Eric Dane’s is another amusing cameo. The kids do their bit but the ageing Kathleen Turner is unduly awkward as the dog trainer, the only blemish in this excellent, heart-warming doggie story. Don’t miss it for anything.

HOME