I read John Grogan's book on Xmas Day 2007 & saw this film today in Australia on New Years Day '09. I have to say they have turned this heartwarming & funny story into a great movie. The casting was right & Owen Wilson & Jennifer Anniston perfect in the roles of John & Jenny Grogan. I grew up as a teenager with a Golden Labrador in the family we all adored & in my early married life with a badly behaved Lassie Collie dog which had to be put down 13 years later. I could really relate to this family's experiences with their pooch & the sometimes angst it caused them. Our Collie chewed everything in sight & also managed to run straight through a plate glass door, jumped out of the car window and broke a bone in his foot... so many experiences similar to this film/book. And at the end of our pooch's life my (by then ex-husband) cried like a baby when we had to have our dog put down.
This film shows the whole life of Marley & how he was loved and at times despaired of and at the end the most cherished part of this family. Yes I cried at the end & I thought it beautifully done but I also was crying for the dog I miss so much now. I would just like the film to have rounded off the story & shown that Marley got a book published about him & that they next got a docile dog who was never going to make it to the press as he was in fact the model dog they thought they were getting with Marley. Lovely film & such a nice change from some of the garbage that's in the theatres these days.
