It should be no surprise to you that I – who constantly writes about my pets and the humane society – went to see the film Marley & Me last night.
This adaptation of the wildly popular book of the same name (which I haven’t read, btw) was great. I went to see it with two other women who love dogs as much as I do. The first half we all laughed at Marley’s antics and, as reviewers promised, the second half we were weeping – along with the rest of the theatre whom I’m sure had various shades and lengths of dog hair stuck to their clothes too.
Dogs are wonderful companions and – except for my university days – I have always had one in the house. Sometimes they can also drive you absolutely nuts. I really related to Jennifer Aniston’s character – Jenny Grogan – when she went ballistic on her large yellow lab after he not only dragged down a set of blinds but knocked over her toddler. Dogs, like other family members, sometimes make you insane. Walking away from the film, though, I did feel much more patient with Riker. After all, he could be so much worse!
Interestingly enough, Marley often faded into the background during the film. I found myself focusing less on the ‘man’s best friend’ theme, and more on other aspects. For example, the interactions between Owen Wilson’s character – John Grogan – and his editor in Florida were wonderful. I also thought Jenny and John Grogan’s struggles with parenthood fascinating (although personally I was a little disappointed with Jenny’s decision to quit journalism and writing to be a full-time mother. But that’s the beauty of feminism – choices! Also, did they not know about birth control? How do you have two surprise babies – or”whoops” as John tells his sons their new sister’s name is?).
Perhaps most of all, the theme of ‘the grass is greener on the other side’ kept cropping up. John always wanted to be a reporter and is unsure when he is ‘stuck’ with a column by his editor. Then he gets kind of wishy washy about that job and the family moves to Philadelphia where he gets to be a reporter. Then he decides what he really loves after all is column-writing. C’mon already!
There’s also the envy John feels toward his best friend, Dr. McSteamy from Grey’s Anatomy: the friend is a hard-hitting journalist who writes pieces on drugs and war between seducing beautiful young women. For much of the movie John would rather face torture by Columbian drug lords than come home to a crazy dog, three screaming brats, and a semi-resentful wife. I think many parents and spouses feel that way on one occasion or another…
The film definitely made me pause for a second and think about my own life: even with all the ups and downs, my field is feeling pretty darn green at the moment.
