Marley & Me

The following review contains spoilers, so if you don't know anything about this film and plan to see it fresh you might want to skip the following.
Marley & Me is the Terms of Endearment of dog movies. The film's based a the real life story as penned by newspaper columnist John Grogan about his family dog. The real Marley even appeared in a film in 1996 that I've never heard of called The Last Home Run.
This is a movie where the dog dies and unlike countless similar films (Turner and Hooch for one) there's no baby Marley to carry the canine banner at the end. The direction by David Frankel is nothing to write home about however Marley & Me overcomes any narrative flaws in lieu of its superstar lead, or the over 20 labrador dogs that portray Marley from pup to old dog. I could be mistaken but I'd swear that one of the Marleys on display also appears as Clint Eastwood's dog in Gran Torino.
Marley & Me demands that the actors raise their talent to a higher plateau just to keep up with the charismatic titular dog. In other words a mediocre actress like Jennifer Anniston performs at a career best level throughout.
The last half hour of Marley & Me will reduce you to blubbering tears. Marley doesn't die easy. First he gets a stomach ailment and you think he's set to die. But he gets better although advanced age reduces him to just lying around the yard. Then the malady strikes again and Owen Wilson (playing the Grogan character) must watch painfully as Marley receives his lethal injection. But the story's far from over. When the family buries Marley in the backyard every member of the family voices a sincere dedication over the grave, each one more heartfelt than the last. Marley & Me will tear up the box office just like Marley the dog rips up the living room couch. As far as dog movies goes this is simply one of the best.