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Paws for Effect

Time and again actors have ignored the famed W.C. Fields quote about never working with children or animals. How else do you explain such cinematic gems as "Daddy Day Care", "Cheaper by the Dozen" and "Beethoven"? Of course, it's important to note that each of those films spawned sequels. I'm not saying that's an indicator of quality, but there's apparently an audience out there for actors who are willing to ignore Mr. Fields' sage advice. Of course, films about children and animals aren't always used for comic effect. "Old Yeller" and "The Champ" come to mind. "Marley & Me", a relentlessly sentimental tearjerker, exists somewhere in this latter camp. It has a lighter touch than those films and it barely earns its unavoidable ending. But its limited success can be attributed to the significant charm of its stars, on two and four legs.

"Marley" is adapted from the autobiographical novel by John Grogan. Owen Wilson stars as Mr. Grogan, a writer who, fed up with the harsh Michigan winter, picks up and moves with his new bride Jenny (Jennifer Aniston) to West Palm Beach, Florida. Once settled in with a cute little house and competing newspaper jobs, the couple begins to hear the distinctive ticking of a biological clock. In an effort to postpone the inevitable, John buys Jenny the titular yellow Labrador puppy. The couple, who with this new addition are now a study in sandy-blonde adorableness, takes an almost criminal disinterest in training Marley and, in time, he becomes a 100-pound force of destruction.

Some fun is had with Marley's insatiable appetite for eating, pooping and leg-humping, with John and Jenny in a continual state of exasperation. Things get serious, however, when Jenny becomes pregnant – not once, not twice, but three times. As the Grogan family officially becomes a brood, matters such as financials and day care come to the fore.

Well, slightly, anyway. John and Jenny are so sensible and reasonable as to appear almost inhuman. They fight once or twice, but make up almost immediately. They have virtually no flaws and, as a result, don't come across as characters. This isn't the fault of the stars, who give the film every ounce of their considerable charm. Ms. Aniston, in particular, is a continually underappreciated natural resource, and Mr. Wilson shows real leading man potential here (though he falls short of the necessary heft in the end).

The problem is that the script, by Scott Frank and Don Roos, is so sanitized (dare I say neutered?) that there is virtually nothing at stake over the course of the film. John and Jenny take so little interest in training Marley (after one Obedience School snafu helmed by none other than Kathleen Turner) that, when they bring a baby into the mix, they almost appear grossly irresponsible. That they're able to introduce three children into a home with "the worst dog in the world" just makes them lucky. I'm not sure what Child Services will think of their behavior.

Director David Frankel gets some great footage of his variously-aged Marleys, and pet-lovers will surely get their fair share of "Aw" moments during the film. Alan Arkin also has a welcome supporting turn as John's beleaguered editor. The "meta" nature of the film's true story – John becomes a columnist chronicling Markey's exploits - keeps "Marley" going for a while. But at two hours and without any real stakes, the film feels long. And its ending, is more affecting than effective. In the end, "Marley" has a lot of barking but little bite.