Marley & Me
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: December 25, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
53
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
12
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Wilson has a scene near the end with Marley that's the most wrenchingly tender acting of his career. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
When Marley is not on the screen, Wilson and Aniston demonstrate why they are gifted comic actors. They have a relationship that's not too sitcomish, not too sentimental, mostly smart and realistic. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
It's an enjoyable and unpretentious perspective of life that reminds us how important and rewarding the little things can be. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneJessica Reaves
And then there's Alan Arkin, who, as John's editor, is hilarious and dry--it's frankly a shame he's not onscreen for every single scene. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
Marley & Me gets so many of the details right, particularly in its final act, when it turns into a five-hanky weeper. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
The humans, particularly the wistful Wilson, deadpan Alan Arkin (as Grogan's editor) and Nathan Gamble, a 10-year-old who plays the eldest Grogan child, are very affecting. Aniston, who has great offbeat comic timing, doesn't quite find her rhythm here. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
Looks to be this season's family animal comedy. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Never brilliant but always solid and often wry, Marley & Me is what it celebrates -- an amiable overachiever. Read full review
75
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
Wilson, who has never made the film in which he convincingly played sincere, turns out to be a wise choice to play John Grogan. Read full review
70
SalonStephanie Zacharek
Marley & Me gets so much surprisingly right. It may be designed to reach a broad audience, but it doesn't pander. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Sweet and wise and often laugh-out-loud funny (just like Grogan's book), Marley & Me isn't just for dog people; it's just not for Cruella De Vil. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
The movie is torn. It wants to honestly explore the natural wear-and-tear of the Grogan marriage. But it also seems OK with being something that could pass as a midseason replacement on ABC. Read full review
63
PremiereOlivia Putnal
Owen Wilson manages to break his customary comic relief persona and is adept at playing a little "Father Knows Best"; the yellow lab does a good job too. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
A warm and fuzzy family movie, but you do wish that at least once someone would upstage the dog. Read full review
60
VarietyTodd McCarthy
This perky, episodic film is as broad and obvious as it could be, but delivers on its own terms thanks to sparky chemistry between its sunny blond stars, Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston, and the unabashed emotion-milking of the final reel. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesBetsy Sharkey
An imperfect, messy and sometimes trying film that has moments of genuine sweetness and humor sprinkled in between the saccharine and the sadness. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineCammila Albertson
As a modest little dramedy about the everyday adventures of starting a family, Marley & Me is pretty solid, but as a movie about the joy and heartbreak of owning a dog, it goes straight for the jugular. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Marley & Me might be easy to watch, but -- even for die-hard canine lovers -- it's as easy to forget. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleWalter Addiego
This love letter to man's best friend will make dog fanciers roll over and do tricks. It's so warmhearted, you'll want to run out and hug the nearest big, sloppy mutt. And while you're watching it, have your handkerchief ready. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Could not be more ordinary. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
The end, a drawn-out death scene, is manipulative and, contrary to the movie's feel-good marketing, likely to upset youngsters. Read full review
50
Washington PostPhilip Kennicott
There are three fine performances lost in this otherwise middling film. Alan Arkin makes a wonderfully gruff newspaper editor who does just about as much barking as Marley. Jennifer Aniston makes the most of the rather slender figure of Jennifer Grogan, creating a believably human picture of a career woman who gives it up for the kids. And then there's the dog that plays Marley. Read full review
40
EmpireAngie Errigo
My Dog Skip for people in mid-life crises, it?s too talky and trouble-laden for tykes but will doubtless prove as critic-proof to dog-lovers and the stars? fans as it did in the US. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
If characters talking to dogs and dog reaction shots are some of your favorite things, add some stars to this review. Read full review
40
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Bland, obsequious adaptation of John Grogan’s best-selling memoir. Read full review
38
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Watching the stars try to out-cutesy the mutt is one for the puke bucket. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle Smith
We watched a story of a Labrador. Who eats the couch and disobeys. I said to Lady, "It's a labra-bore." Read full review
30
Village VoiceJim Ridley
Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston relegate Marley to a lifestyle accessory in his own biopic. Read full review
30
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
You'd have to be made of granite to resist all the charms of a free-spirited, 100-pound Lab. Yet the production manages, against heavy odds, to make its canine star an incorrigible bore. Read full review
30
Film ThreatPete Vonder Haar
Not many actors could do justice to the vanilla story presented by Grogan and screenwriters Scott Frank and Don Roos, but Wilson and Aniston – two of the blandest, most uninteresting actors working today – are just the actors to pull it off. Read full review
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