Must love dogs

My best friend and constant movie date Sherwil and I had this running joke between us: She didn’t use to care for dogs, while I’m very much a dog person, and in that alternate reality where one of us carried that differentiating Y chromosome and we were to fall in love, dogs could be a deal breaker. You see, I have no qualms about letting a dog sleep on my bed. She, on the other hand, didn’t even like touching them.

That is, until her family’s dog gave birth to little black and white balls of fur. She graduated from steering away from any site of four-legged cuteness, to actually letting them eat dog food from the palm of her hand. Still, I was mildly surprised when she invited me to watch Marley & Me. 

Starring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson, this feel-good film follows the lives of young newlyweds John and Jennifer Grogan as they build writing careers and a family with an incorrigible yellow Labrador Retriever named after Bob Marley. It’s known for being the Christmas film that had Aniston’s film as top dog over ex-husband Brad Pitt’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Marley & Me is based upon a bestselling autobiographical book by journalist John Grogan. This is the biggest tip-off: people who write about their dogs often have a tear-jerker in store for you. This is why I avoid dog books, dog movies, dog stories. That being said, I still agreed to watch Marley & Me because it was my best friend’s idea.

I read some bad reviews of this film online, so I was pleasantly surprised that I loved every minute of it. It has been panned for lacking in comedy—of the Beethoven type, I suppose—but its realistic portrayal of marriage and family life with a lumbering, much-too-playful Lab is precisely what I love about it.

You know how people say television series like E.R. or Grey’s Anatomy capture the intricacies of the medical profession? I say the same thing about the film. Marley is as incorrigible as dogs can get. He gets kicked out of doggie school, he eats telephones and answering machines, and he runs—really fast—after whatever gets his attention.

Not all dogs are like that, sure, but if you’ve ever taken care of a puppy before, or if you’ve ever forgiven a dog for eating a shoe before, you’ll connect with Marley and John’s special relationship. You’ll get why John and Jennifer can totally overlook a half-eaten couch, why they aren’t afraid to let their big dog play with their baby, and why they, for most of the film, can look at their train wreck of a dog with adoring eyes.

I also love this film for showing a straightforward and realistic portrayal of married life. It starts John and Jennifer’s wedding night, when they’re young and in love and raring to go into the adventure of marriage and ends with them, with three children, a little bit frayed around the edges, but even deeper in love and in appreciation for each other. It’s as much the story of a marriage as it is the story of marriage shared with a dog.

Aniston and Wilson aren’t their usual comic selves here—which is not to say that they’re not funny in this film, because they still are—but their relaxed portrayal is really refreshing. I’m sure it’s not that easy to play supporting role to a dog!

Predictably enough, towards the end of the film, tears were streaming down my cheeks. I was crying so much, I couldn’t see through my glasses. What’s funny, though, is that the tears weren’t the painful kind; they just flowed freely. But I suppose that’s also because when you love a dog, there are no ifs and buts and other such complications attached to it. It just flows freely—from you and back to you.

John got it right when he says, “A dog doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his.”

Marley & Me is really a love story. But only those who love—or once loved—dogs can get it.

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