Animals in movies usually signify one of two things. They act as our anthropomorphized "selves", endowed with all manner of human characteristics for the purpose of telling very human stories. Pixar, DreamWorks, and above all Disney have done more to give giraffes, fish, and lions ironic humor and irrational neuroses than the most avid pet owner could imagine. (And yes, this writer's cat has some peculiar neuroses. Really. She does.) The other popular role for animals sees directors manipulating the viewer by tugging at the heartstrings - such as, when the "hero" is in danger. The pooch or imperiled puss are almost as common as the kid in trouble. We all remember the dog's desperate leap to safety in Independence Day. We held our collective breath when James Brolin's George Lutz went back into the basement and nearly died saving the family lab in the original The Amityville Horror. We trusted Jonesy's reactions implicitly in Alien, and Ripley's mad dash to get him was the foundation of that film's tense coda. The pet is a metaphor for all that is good and right in the world, and more importantly in the family unit, and we don't like to see it threatened.

Which brings us to Marley & Me, a film that puts an odd spin on the use of the pet by setting it up as a beacon of change and a symbol of the pleasures to be found in life's small, sometimes trying details.The film is based on John Grogan's bestselling memoir and ode to his dog, Marley. Marley never snaps off pithy one-liners and is never in the line of fire; he lives a long and happy life with the Grogans. There's no drama, no upheaval, no anguish. This is not I Am a Cat, meaning the story isn't told from Marley's point of view; it's very much about the "me", John. Be warned, though: There's a strong Old Yeller factor here.

Not much happens in Marley & Me. We begin on John (Owen Wilson) and Jennifer's (Jennifer Aniston) wedding night in snowy Michigan. The newlyweds decide to relocate to sunny south Florida, and start their respective journalistic gigs - she as a features writer, he as a city reporter. John gets his job at the recommendation of his glamorous hard news buddy Sebastian (Eric Dane), whom he idolizes a little bit. John fills in for an absent columnist at the request of his editor Arnie (a brilliantly dry Alan Arkin) and his career as a commentator is born. In time the couple's one child blossoms into three, and a "job" at a mid-sized daily turns into a higher profile career at a fancy Philadelphia paper. The end. As John and Jennifer grow and change, so does their dedicated golden lab Marley, morphing from "the world's worst dog" into another, irreplaceable Grogan. Marley's there for it all: the frustrations that go hand in hand with Jennifer's decision to give up work and become a full time mother; the glaring disappointment John sees when he compares himself to the globe-trotting, Pulitzer-bound Sebastian; the burdens of parenthood and so on.

In so much as Marley & Me can "speak" for all those out there mired in the muck of making a life with another person, it does, but the film has its limits. The Grogans are painfully white upper middle-class, with perfect blond children and two practical cars. There are no overdue bills, no Asian, black, Jewish or gay people, and barely a hint of urban crime. Their kids are likely bound for Harvard with nary a teen rebellion in sight to disrupt the "Better Homes and Gardens" environs. So even with all this very (partially?) recognizable material to couples with starter homes, director David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada) makes sure to lay on the schmaltz as well. There is a plethora of saccharine moments of domestic bliss to complement what amounts to dog porn. Watch Marley chew the furniture! See Marley drive the dog trainer around the bend! Behold Marley's innate sensitivity! The film is shamelessly calculating and works hard to stimulate the tear ducts of every family member.

With the exception of Arkin, the cast is unremarkable and anyone could easily be swapped out for any other working actor. Wilson and Aniston coast along in roles that could be considered casting against type. Wilson, for a change, isn't commanded to play the childishly charming rogue and Aniston gets to play an adult as opposed to a fantasy woman-child with guy problems. That's all fine, but Wilson can't quite shake the underlying current of snarkiness that works in opposition to the film's earnestness, and Aniston is still a dramatic lightweight who's really best suited to the small screen. Still, the dog is really, really cute.

Marley & Me opens in Hong Kong on Saturday.

(HK Edition 01/24/2009 page4)