Marley and Me

I came home from a long day at the office this week--pretty dazed by a day full of counseling--and my wife said, "Let's go se 'Marley and Me'" A quick dinner, and a short ride to the Jackson Cinema brought me to a place of rest and what could have been a sure nap...except for the movie.

I have not read the book but have heard several comments about the movie. "Be sure you take a kleenex" was the most common response when I asked someone how they liked the movie. Having seen the trailer several times of a dog "on the loose" and wreaking havoc, and knowing the bent of Owen Wilson towards comedic roles, I thought this would be a shallow and inane "tear-jerker" movie.

I confess. I wiped my esyes a few times with the napkin I had grabbed to clean the butter off my moustache from the cold pop corn and melting dibbies I bought to snack on.

But I did not fall asleep, as I am prone to do.

I watched the whole movie!

And although it was not a masterpiece of cinematography nor a moving examination of human character, it was a movie about real life. That's right. What caught my attention was the real life depiction of the stresses of falling in love, getting married, raising children (note the order), changing jobs and just learning how to live together--which were not anesthesized by affairs or narcotic binges.

And, yes, Marley got front and center billing, deservedly so. He was the proverbial glue that seemed to literally hold the family together through all its changes and challenges.

The real adhesive, however, was not the adorable canine. The undeniable commodity that helped this family weather the storms of life was...a new word for our "fair-weather" world--commitment.


You and me. She and me. Marley and me.