Coming Up on Christmas Day

Directed by David Frankel and having a screenplay written by Scott Frank and Don Roos, “Marley & Me” dresses for holiday right on Christmas Day. The movie is based on The New York Times bestselling autobiographical book written by journalist John Grogan and published in 2005.

Exactly as the book does, the movie portrays John Grogan and his family’s life together with Marley, their dog, and the lessons together with the relationships which had happened during a period of 13 years. But to return to the movie, John Grogan is a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer who marries Jenny. During their wedding night, they decide to move away from the harsh winters of Michigan and go the sunny West Palm Beach in Florida.

They adopt Marley, a yellow Labrador Golden Retriever, as to get accustomed to the parenting style. Yet, the dog proves to be too active and to demand too much things from them during his races throughout the house and the mess he creates. As time passes by, children begin to appear in their family, but in the end, it proves that it didn’t matter how rambunctious Marley is because he has reached to be an indispensable part of the family.

The shootings for the movie took place in several locations from Philadelphia, West Chester in Pennsylvania and Fort Lauderdale, including Miami and Dolphin Stadium in Florida. With the music composed by Theodore Shapiro and recorded with the Hollywood Studio Symphony at the Newman Scoring State at 20th Century Fox, the movie describes a family’s life “with the dog being a catalyst,” John Grogan said.

“It’s a comedy with a poignant side to it,” Grogan added.

Yet, there were 22 different yellow Labradors to play Marley’s part and as Todd McCarthy from Variety said, the movie “delivers on its own terms thanks to sparky chemistry between its sunny blond stars, Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston.”

Also Frankel, the director of the movie, tried to reveal the sentiments of the author of the book and finally admitted that the movie describes the high and lows of being in love, but also the challenges that a marriage implies. He added that “Marley and Me” deals with the sacrifices a married couple should do and the dreams they have to shatter for the sake of their children.

As Grogan also said, neither the book nor the movie is about the dog, but about the family. Jennifer Aniston described the movie as revealing the marriage, career and the balancing relationships between the members of a family. Also Owen Wilson, who plays the role of John Grogan, said that Marley reminds him of how funny life can be.