Marley and Me

I took the kids to see "Marley and Me" yesterday. I couldn't stomach another cartoon movie, so I thought the dog flick with Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston would satisfy us all . The film has gotten mixed reviews, most on the negative side. It was thrown out there that Jennifer Aniston is not a believable-looking mother of three in the film, and that the story is a bit of a snooze. I expected to see plenty of cute dog tricks and dumb jokes, accompanied by some obnoxious children. That's not what I got.

The movie follows the life of Aniston and Wilson's characters. Soon after the two are married, they adopt a dog. This dog then follows them on life's rocky path of jobs, children, job stress, child stress, and three different moves. The movie's main character, Marley the dog, is a major force of nature, destroying blankets, couches, and linoleum throughout the years. At one point Aniston's character wants to get rid of the dog. She is a sleep-deprived mother of two, and the dog's constant barking is pushing her to the edge of sanity. This scene resonated with me because recently I contemplated "re gifting" Patrick. When I had brought it up with Scot (not a fan of Patrick) he said "NO, you don't get rid of family." Aniston ultimately comes to the same conclusion.

Marley had been told his whole life that he has a "bad dog." Yet on his deathbed (which was an excruciating 30 minute ending) Owen Wilson tearfully tells the dog to ignore every bad thing he every said to him, and to know he was loved. Isn't that what we all wish we had the time to say when we lose a loved one? The movie is not about an overly cute lab, but about how we all show love through the patience, time, and energy we invest in those we call "family."

Nora, Maggie and I walked out of the theater, sobbing. I thought of all the dogs I had loved and lost during my life. Jeremy, Chester, Cheyenne, Lucy, Jack, Annie, Bernice, and Patrick. Some of them were pure goodness, and a couple of them had streaks of the devil. But they were all family members who taught me something about devotion and at the very least, made me laugh. Marley and Me didn't seem to be another Jennifer Aniston vehicle. Owen Wilson was restrained, and the dog didn't spend huge amounts of time hamming for the cameras. This was a movie that was about the unconditional love of dogs, and how they are always with us on the journey of life.