Marley and Me Review
Thursday, 26. March 2009, 00:01:34
I wasn’t looking forward to Marley and Me, but I was looking forward to the company, so I went anyway - and enjoyed both.
Marley and Me is the story of the American dream for today. In fact, it’s almost like the anti-Trainspotting, not that the characters choose a big ******* TV, but they do start a family, get bigger and bigger houses and at every stage in life choose life rather than drugs, because of a dog.
Apart from that you can’t really compare it to Trainspotting, but you can compare it to Click and I think Marley and Me is by far the better film.
Marley and Me is sweet, but not too sickly, though I thought it was a little light on drama. There is a little tragedy for Wilson and Anniston’s characters, but overall they had it pretty good compared to most characters in most films. I was sure Owen Wilson’s character was going to have an affair at one point because modern drama has conditioned that expectation into me. Maybe the writer was making a point in keeping Wilson’s character faithful: not everyone has a dramatic life, so why should movie characters have to have unbelievable roller-coaster lives?
Jennifer Anniston was good because she didn’t completely remind me of Rachel from Friends. Her main role was by turns to look totally hot, then stressed by motherhood and then totally hot and I felt she did it well. The script didn’t give her a whole lot of room to develop her character, since nearly every shot of her was in her house or beside her husband. By contrast, Wilson got lots of screen time either on his own with the dog or with his friends or with his boss. I’m no arch-feminist, but the writer could have done a bit more for Anniston.
The film could also have done with a few slightly stronger characters than the lead pair. Wilson’s boss is excellent as the archetypal Mentor, and his friend Sebastian is good as the perpetual bachelor, but no one other than Wilson and Anniston stood out enough.
My biggest criticism though, is that there isn’t enough Jamaican music in the soundtrack. The dog was named after Bob Marley of the Wailers because one of his songs came on the radio on the drive home from the puppy farm. After that, nothing. There was some good music, but no other reggae and certainly no ska. Not even any american third wave!
There are few compelling reasons to watch Marley and Me, but on the other hand there are few compelling reasons not to watch it and for me it was an enjoyable way to pass a couple of hours. Most dog owners will enjoy it and many will shed a tear at the end. Non-dog owners might even be tempted to get one. Hopefully more people will be inspired to have lots of children and love them deeply.
Marley and Me is the story of the American dream for today. In fact, it’s almost like the anti-Trainspotting, not that the characters choose a big ******* TV, but they do start a family, get bigger and bigger houses and at every stage in life choose life rather than drugs, because of a dog.
Apart from that you can’t really compare it to Trainspotting, but you can compare it to Click and I think Marley and Me is by far the better film.
Marley and Me is sweet, but not too sickly, though I thought it was a little light on drama. There is a little tragedy for Wilson and Anniston’s characters, but overall they had it pretty good compared to most characters in most films. I was sure Owen Wilson’s character was going to have an affair at one point because modern drama has conditioned that expectation into me. Maybe the writer was making a point in keeping Wilson’s character faithful: not everyone has a dramatic life, so why should movie characters have to have unbelievable roller-coaster lives?
Jennifer Anniston was good because she didn’t completely remind me of Rachel from Friends. Her main role was by turns to look totally hot, then stressed by motherhood and then totally hot and I felt she did it well. The script didn’t give her a whole lot of room to develop her character, since nearly every shot of her was in her house or beside her husband. By contrast, Wilson got lots of screen time either on his own with the dog or with his friends or with his boss. I’m no arch-feminist, but the writer could have done a bit more for Anniston.
The film could also have done with a few slightly stronger characters than the lead pair. Wilson’s boss is excellent as the archetypal Mentor, and his friend Sebastian is good as the perpetual bachelor, but no one other than Wilson and Anniston stood out enough.
My biggest criticism though, is that there isn’t enough Jamaican music in the soundtrack. The dog was named after Bob Marley of the Wailers because one of his songs came on the radio on the drive home from the puppy farm. After that, nothing. There was some good music, but no other reggae and certainly no ska. Not even any american third wave!
There are few compelling reasons to watch Marley and Me, but on the other hand there are few compelling reasons not to watch it and for me it was an enjoyable way to pass a couple of hours. Most dog owners will enjoy it and many will shed a tear at the end. Non-dog owners might even be tempted to get one. Hopefully more people will be inspired to have lots of children and love them deeply.
WIDGETIZE