Marley & Me - 8 stars out of 10

Marley & Me - 8 stars out of 10

"Marley & Me" is the story of a growing family's struggles and successes as  told through their "worst dog in the world," Marley.  He is directly and indirectly a part of each chapter in this family's life and serves as an unexpected centerpiece of this entire family's world.  Although the mere mention of this film typically elicits a response of "THAT MOVIE IS SO SAD!!!!!", the majority of the story is heartwarming and happy.  Marley is so cute, even in his most destructive moments, that you will definitely want a lab by the end of the film.  At first sight,  I wanted to write this film off completely because of Owen Wilson, but he is actually quite good as John Grogan.  He has wonderful chemistry with Jennifer Aniston and between the number of children and animals used in the film, the entire cast operates smoothly as a cohesive unit.  Add in the fact that this is a true story and you have a special piece of history preserved to help us appreciate the love of a pet in our lives.