This end of the film has caught you all, whether you are ready to admit it or not, guaranteed on receipt!
Have you ever cried watching a movie? Let’s assume yes. But have you ever shed as many tears as you did watching Marley and Me, sold as a dog comedy starring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson and which broke the hearts of everyone who saw it?
We follow newlyweds, and John, the husband, wishing to delay his wife Jenny’s desire to have their first child, chooses to “distract” her by giving her a Labrador puppy. It is through the eyes of this dog that we will follow the evolution of the family, from the arrival of the child to professional choices and personal dramas. But Marley, always faithful, will be there in all these painful moments to overcome.
Twentieth Century Fox
Except that around 1h30 into the film, the news breaks: Marley has a stomach problem from which he may never recover. Little by little, his health declines and we witness his agony. Obviously the goodbyes with John and Jenny are heartbreaking, as is the symbolic burial of the animal in the garden.
But we, the public, had signed up for a cheerful comedy with a dog who chews cushions and steals children’s toys, not to shed all the tears in our bodies at the death of this labrador to whom we were very attached and who truly part of the family!
Twentieth Century Fox
This final tragedy obviously gives full meaning to the love of a family for a domestic animal and vice versa, as well as the bonds that we were able to form with it. When he disappears, he is a traveling companion of more than ten years and as many memories disappear with him.
Twentieth Century Fox
Of course, this type of “animal films with tragic endings” are not new, since in 1942, Walt Disney also traumatized a generation with the death of Bambi’s mother and Fidèle Vagabond, which has a storyline similar to that of Marley and me – with the difference that it takes place in the American West.
Based on a novel by John Grogan, Marley and Me proved to be a theatrical success (including 774,570 theatrical admissions). Building on his momentum, director David Frankel collaborated again with Owen Wilson on his next film, Funny Birds, and will reunite with Jennifer Aniston years later for two episodes of the series The Morning Show, season 3 of which has just started on AppleTV+.
If you want to cry (a lot) with Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson, Marley and Me is currently available on Netflix.