Marley & Me

The antics of Marley, a misbehaving labrador, provide the comic impetus for this charming movie from David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada). Owen Wilson (in typically amiable form) plays real-life journalist John Grogan, who moves to Florida with his wife and fellow reporter Jenny (Jennifer Aniston), where he ends up acquiring a dog and penning a column about his life with a four-legged force of nature. The movie version of Grogan's book wins us over early on with lots of cute canine naughtiness (Marley literally eats everything), but the focus is just as much on the Grogans' marriage, as they have kids, suffer heartaches and realise their lives are passing them by. Inevitably, the lifestyle depicted here is a little idealised, but the film's approach is more grown-up than you'd expect, with Eric Dane (Grey's Anatomy) offering a hint of danger as John's footloose best friend and a supporting cast that includes Kathleen Turner and Alan Arkin.