Marley & Me (2008)

Most people think so. 82% of audiences gave it a thumbs up based on 4,758 votes. Critics scored it lower at 58%, but audiences disagreed.

A newly married couple, in the process of starting a family, learn many of life's important lessons from their trouble-loving retriever, Marley. Packed with plenty of laughs to lighten the load, the film explores the highs and lows of marriage, maturity and confronting one's own mortality, as seen through the lens of family life with a dog. Wikipedia ↗

Marley & Me is a 2008 American comedy-drama directed by David Frankel, based on John Grogan's 2005 memoir. Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston star as John and Jenny Grogan, a young Florida couple who adopt Marley, a yellow Labrador Retriever puppy who grows into the "world's worst dog" — destructive, disobedient, and completely untrainable but unconditionally loving. The film follows the Grogans' 13 years with Marley as their lives evolve through career changes, children, moves, and the daily chaos of living with a dog who eats through walls, destroys furniture, and fails obedience school.

Marley & Me earned $242 million worldwide on a $60 million budget, but its cultural impact was defined by its devastating final act — Marley's aging and death reduced audiences to uncontrollable weeping in theaters. The film became the definitive "dog movie" grief experience, with many viewers who knew the ending was coming still finding it emotionally overwhelming.