My Review of Marley & Me · 11:25pm Feb 19th, 2023
Rating Scale:
12/10—a complete masterpiece; flawless and outstanding
11/10—Excellent, near-perfect film
10/10—the standard rating; awesome film with a couple of flaws
9/10—a wonderful film with several flaws
8/10–a great film with numerous flaws but not enough to ruin it
7/10—a fun and entertaining movie; not great but still enjoyable
6/10—a slightly above average film; it is something I might watch again
5/10—mediocre movie; not awful but not great either
4/10—a below average film; it could have been much better
3/10—a bad film; poorly written and poorly executed
2/10—a very bad movie; the few good things in the movie overshadowed by the bad things
1/10—a terrible movie; a total waste of time
0/10—a worthless piece of abomination; should have never been made
Greetings, folks. This is Mr. J back with another movie review for today. This afternoon, I will be reviewing a 2008 family/drama film entitled Marley & Me. I have honestly never seen this film before until a few months ago in 2022. As I was intrigued by the movie poster and the cast thereof, I decided to give this a first time watch and see what it is all about. Quite frankly, this was really enjoyable, entertaining, and sadly emotional. It has a very solid storyline that perfectly represents the development of a relationship and an emotional bond between an owner and a pet.
This film is about newlyweds John and Jenny Grogan who recently moved to South Florida to take on some reporter jobs at competing newspapers. As Jenny is contemplating motherhood, John’s friend advises them to get a pet to test their caretaking abilities. Thus, they get a Labrador retriever named Marley. From then on, they go on a remarkable journey that came to a heartbreaking end.
Even though I don’t own a pet, I can still realize the emotional connection people have with their pets—especially with dogs. I remember my grandmother’s dogs, Dozer and Judy, back when I was a little kid. They were always fun to be around, and they never wasted time in making everyone in our family feel like at home. I remember how sad I was when I heard they passed away—first Judy and then Dozer. Sorry, I got sidetracked a little bit. I just wanted to illustrate my point about how our pets can bring out the best of us even when we’re at our lowest points.
The acting was really good. Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston both did a fantastic job playing their respective characters and conveying great emotion through their roles. They had well-written chemistry throughout the movie and are perfect examples of how couples deal with family issues, and we can see how difficult it can be to take care of both children and a pet. It’s not easy, and if not handled carefully, it can stress you out in an emotionally exhausting way.
The soundtrack wasn’t too bad, the editing was above average, and the supporting cast were more or less impressive with the parts they all played therein.
If there was one thing that stood out to me, it was the reality of how good things come to a swift, inevitable end. It was sad to see Marley get euthanized at the end after a series of unfortunate events. It’s rare when a movie ends on a sad note, but at least it maintained a positive tone. As long as we are among the living, the memories of our loved ones, including our pets, will live on.
I’ll give this a 9/10. For those of you who have pets, just remember to make every day the best for them. Never take them for granted and always cherish every moment you have with them.
Peace.
