Marley & Me: The Puppy Years

Poor writing and poor jokes. Just a money grab. Total waste of time unless you are five years old.

Let me begin with an apology to the people reading this. I am only giving this 1 star because you can not give it any lower. I also wish to apologize from the American people to the Author of Marley and Me, we are sorry that Hollywood has done this to your story.

Now with that said, why why why why why why..... why would you take a wonderful heartfelt movie like Marley & Me and try to milk it like a cash cow. This movie, which I sat through because my wife rented it for our children, was the worst thing I have seen in my life, and to date I have viewed about 7,000 movies, 5,240 of which we own. (okay we have no life) Marley is not a talking dog movie, you want a talking dog, go watch Scooby Doo, Marmaduke or the 1 million Air Bud movies and puppy sequels.

I sincerely wish Hollywood would stop doing this to movies, making useless sequels after sequel trying to get a buck. Yes, this was a direct to video movie, but it should have been freebie for walking into Wal-Mart. I can see the greeter, "Hi welcome to Wal-Mart, here's your free crappy movie, and a fork to gouge your eyes out after viewing it." I know they will never make any money to cover the coast of this movie, I am sure it is headed straight to the dollar store in a few weeks. I admit I watched it, we rented it from Family video (no way was I buying it, or even considering buying it at 15.99 at Wal-Mart, we had a free rental and the only thing it cost me was my time. Of which I am considering suing the studio for reparations for that. When even my 5yr old says 'dad this movie sucks can I go play" you know it is bad, this kid made me sit through Rango... twice which for all of the ways it annoyed me, she loved it. Regardless, if you are considering seeing this, please do not... you will beg for a mercy killing before it is over... This movie is definitely one of the ten signs of the Apocalypse. If this is any sign of the rest of the crap to come out of Hollywood in the near future, I am praying that the world will end like the crazy preacher guy was saying earlier this year in November... at least that way, we can not be tortured anymore with this kind of garbage. Really who gave this movie the okay... who said let's waste money and time, and all the respect our studio may still have... let's make a nonsensical kiddie version of Marley and me and call it the puppy years... That person was on some serious drugs... as were the people who said okay let's do it... here's your money...

Who on Earth was this aimed at??

The original film was not overly suitable for children (to be fair, it wasn't good for anyone - a terrible film), but to then make a straight to DVD sequel just reeks of a cash-in on the first film.

This has very, very little to recommend it and barely deserves recognition.

Because we were fans of the original Marley & Me starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston, we thought this might be a fun follow-up. Unfortunately, this direct-to-video spin-off feels like nothing more than a shallow cash-in on the success of the original.

Instead of the heartfelt family story we loved, this film presents a flimsy setup: Marley as a puppy being left with a new family while the original characters are "away." The plot then shifts into an implausible competition storyline where the young dog is expected to perform feats of training far beyond what makes sense for a puppy.

The attempt at humor often falls flat. A grandfather character is reduced to clichés with false teeth and repeated jokes about wrinkles - a portrayal that feels demeaning rather than funny. On top of that, the film insists on making every animal "talk," complete with forced, cutesy voiceovers that quickly become grating.

One of the most unpleasant elements was the portrayal of the rival miniature pinschers, whose trainer outfits them with electric shock collars played for laughs. Watching this was extremely uncomfortable rather than comic.

The film also leans on broad stereotypes for its villains, with heavy-handed caricatures instead of credible characters. None of it adds charm or wit; it just feels lazy.

Where the original Marley & Me had warmth and genuine heart, this spin-off feels hollow. The animals deserved better, the audience deserved better, and the result is a joyless, uninspired film that misses the point entirely.

The other reviewers are right. This movie could be better.

For starters it does not have the same tone of the original "Marley" film. OK whatever it is meant for different audience - that of young children. But if you are going to keep to the character of the original "Marley" keep to the character. The whole point of the Marley story is that other for some basic things such as not going to the bathroom in the house he is UNTRAINABLE!!!! To suggest that two 13 year olds who are untrained as dog trainers can train an untrainable dog doesn't even make sense.

Then you have two 13 year olds acting like they are five, particularly the boy. A 13 year old boy having to convince his mother that he is old enough and responsible for the responsibility of a dog is laughable. Thirteen year olds are not responsible, but they are not completely irresponsible either.

Then you have the evil characters. This is a film not a comic book. Even if this film is meant for children, let's try to be at least somewhat believable.

I did like the actor who played the grandfather. He was very likable.

:((((