Fresh
Evidently contrived and something of an ungainly hybrid, the film shares its canine protagonist's facility for wearing down your resistance.
Trevor Johnston, Time Out
Overview
A newly married couple, in the process of starting a family, learn many of life's important lessons from their trouble-loving retriever, Marley. Packed with plenty of laughs to lighten the load, the film explores the highs and lows of marriage, maturity and confronting one's own mortality, as seen through the lens of family life with a dog.
Director and cast
- David Frankel Director
- Owen Wilson as John Grogan
- Jennifer Aniston as Jennifer Grogan
- Eric Dane as Sebastian Tunney
- Kathleen Turner as Ms. Kornblut
- Alan Arkin as Arnie Klein
- Nathan Gamble as Patrick (Age 10)
- Haley Bennett as Lisa
- Ann Dowd as Dr. Platt
- Clarke Peters as Editor
- Finley Jacobsen as Conor (Age 8)
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
63%
Tomatometer
Fresh
The dog -- or the many dogs who play Marley through the years -- also delivers some of the funniest scenes.
Ben Mankiewicz, At the Movies
Fresh
I think this movie works because of the relationship on screen between Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston.
Ben Lyons, At the Movies
Rotten
Not every book has a movie lurking in it.
Philip Kennicott, Washington Post
Rotten
Frankel turns the camera toward the canines as frequently as possible, but too often we're stuck with Wilson and Aniston's bland characters. You wonder if it might have been better to let sleeping dogs lie.
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times
More films
Beethoven (1992)
Comedy · Family · PG
The Newton family live in their comfortable home, but there seems to something missing. This "hole" is filled by a small puppy, who walks into their home and their lives. Beethoven, as he is named, grows into a giant of a dog... a St Bernard. Doctor Varnick, the local vet has a secret and horrible sideline, which requires lots of dogs ...
- Runtime
- 1h 27m
- Director
- Brian Levant
- Cast
- Charles Grodin, Bonnie Hunt, Dean Jones
IMDb
5.7
Rotten Tomatoes
30%
My Dog Skip (2000)
Comedy · Drama · Family · PG
A shy boy is unable to make friends in Yazoo City, Mississippi in 1942, until his parents give him a terrier puppy for his ninth birthday. The dog, which he names Skip, becomes well known and loved throughout the community and enriches the life of the boy, Willie, as he grows into manhood. Based on the best-selling Mississippi memoir b...
- Runtime
- 1h 35m
- Director
- Jay Russell
- Cast
- Frankie Muniz, Diane Lane, Caitlin Wachs
IMDb
7.0
Rotten Tomatoes
73%
Metacritic
61
Old Yeller (1957)
Adventure · Drama · Family · Western · Approved
Young Travis Coates is left to take care of the family ranch with his mother and younger brother while his father goes off on a cattle drive in the 1860s. When a yellow mongrel comes for an uninvited stay with the family, Travis reluctantly adopts the dog.
- Runtime
- 1h 24m
- Director
- Robert Stevenson
- Cast
- Tommy Kirk, Dorothy McGuire, Fess Parker
IMDb
7.2
Rotten Tomatoes
100%
Metacritic
84
Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009)
Drama · Family · G
A drama based on the true story of a college professor's bond with the abandoned dog he takes into his home.
- Runtime
- 1h 33m
- Director
- Lasse Hallström
- Cast
- Richard Gere, Joan Allen, Sarah Roemer
IMDb
8.1
Rotten Tomatoes
64%
Marmaduke (2010)
Comedy · Family · PG
When Phil and Debbie Winslow relocate from their native Kansas to the sunny climes of Orange County, their big-hearted, havoc-wreaking Great Dane gets a taste of the dog's life, California-style.
- Runtime
- 1h 28m
- Director
- Tom Dey
- Cast
- Owen Wilson, Emma Stone, George Lopez
IMDb
4.2
Rotten Tomatoes
9%
Metacritic
30
Comments
Talk about the film with other members