Much to the chagrin of cat people, dog flicks are hot at the box office right now, what with the success of Beverly Hills Chihuaua, Bolt and this amiable tale based on a bestselling book by columnist John Grogan that basically boils down to Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston chasing after a Labrador retriever for two hours. We follow Wilson and Aniston as they get married in Michigan, move to Florida where they adopt the title pooch and watch as they deal, in sitcom fashion, with the ups and downs brought on by kids, careers, and an adorable but neurotic canine.

Like so many comedies nowadays, the film earns lots of easy laughs in the first half, as Wilson and Aniston adjust to their pet’s wild ways, and then segues into a squishy-sad-serious second half that pulls mercilessly at your heartstrings. I’m not exaggerating. If you cry at Hallmark Card commercials, you will weep buckets by the time this thing is over.

Having said that, Wilson and Aniston are enormously likeable here. Wilson works his shaggy-dog charm to nice effect and Aniston shows off her sharp comic timing. The pair even handles said somber moments well enough. Aniston, especially, makes you feel for her character when she suffers a medical tragedy, and Wilson has a tender tear-jerker of a scene with Marley near the end.

Oscar winner Alan Arkin lends funny support as Wilson’s Florida newspaper editor, though he’s not nearly as hilarious as he was in Grosse Point Blank, and Grey’s Anatomy hunk Eric Dane does a decent job as Wilson’s globe-trotting newspaper buddy who uses Marley, and even Wilson’s kids, to score with hot women.

In the end, it all comes down to the dog and kids will love watching Marley, whom Aniston initially dubs “clearance puppy,” wreak havoc. He chases birds at the beach, tears up the garage, chews up pillows and couches, knocks down blinds, eats Aniston’s necklace and gets kicked out of an obedience class after humping the leg of the instructor (a still-funny Kathleen Turner). Not to mention being referred to as “evil with a dog face.” – [DVD]

Comedy/Drama/Family/Romance

Rated PG

DVD Release Date: 3/31/09

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