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Marley and Me

Has anyone else taken young kids to see "Marley and Me?" If so, what were your thoughts?

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lilybug's picture

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LyseLane's picture
by LyseLane 1 yr. ago.

My friend took two ten year old boys. Said they liked the dog parts but much of the story was either a bit boring, created questions (why is she peeing on a stick?) or just too much like a Hallmark movie. It was not enough funny or silly to hold their attention. They wanted more dog destruction. Granted, they're boys.

lilybug's picture
by lilybug 1 yr. ago.

I took my girls today and I just couldn't believe how much sex talk was in it! "Let's go home and have sex". "Come home, honey, there's a naked woman in your bed waiting for you." Lots of sex scenes that cut away before it got graphic, (they jumped in a pool together naked)but I was so confused that it got a PG rating, and that it was billed as a family movie. Then I went online to read reviews because I was wondering if it was just me, and sure enough, LOTS of complaints from parents that said it wasn't rated properly or marketed correctly. Really strange. Yes, there was a miscarriage involved, lots of pregnancy tests and basically alot more focus on the couple's efforts to get pregnant than the dog stories. At the end we knew the dog died, but not totally prepared for the 15 minute euthanasia scene in the vet's office. Weird!

LyseLane's picture
by LyseLane 1 yr. ago.

I had heard about the ending, but she left out a lot of the adult topics. Then, it's definitely not for my kids. I think we'll check out Bedtime Stories instead.

lilybug's picture
by lilybug 1 yr. ago.

I'm not a prude at all, but I just thought the themes were a little too grown up for younger kids. Not what I'd call wholesome.

lilybug's picture
by lilybug 1 yr. ago.

A follow-up tidbit: I noticed in today's paper, even though the ad for the movie is still showing the PG rating, if you look at the reviews, it's listed as PG-13. Very interesting...........

Pamela_DeLoatch's picture
by Pamela_DeLoatch 1 yr. ago.


My first clue was when it was scheduled to come out on Christmas Day. The dog dies, people. Who wants to see that happen on Christmas? At any rate, from the previews, it did look like a mild adult movie (mid teenage date movie--not that my mid-teens can date) rather than a movie for kids. I took my 10 and 12 year olds to see Bedtime Stories. It was surprisingly entertaining, and that's where I'd steer the 7-12 year olds.

lilybug's picture
by lilybug 1 yr. ago.

Yeah....guess I got all wrapped up in the cute puppies on the commercial and didn't think about it hard enough. I did not expect that my 7 yr old would be subjected to the intimate details of a couple's fertility woes.

luvinit's picture
by luvinit 1 yr. ago.

How about that new movie with dogs.. Hotel Dogs (I think)? My nieces are also really into the cutesy puppy stuff. I however would much rather spend my time and money on something else... maybe I can convince DH to take them!?

AHamm's picture
by AHamm 1 yr. ago.

I haven't seen this movie, but I wanted to add a comment. There is a great website for checking out a movie before taking your kids. It very specifically lists things in a movie that parents might find offensive (or just think their kids aren't ready for).

Here's a link: http://www.kids-in-mind.com/

pennielane's picture
by pennielane 1 yr. ago.

Too much for small kids. I'm a grown woman and I was bursting out into tears!

dwagner9's picture
by dwagner9 1 yr. ago.

The problem is that the previews are geared toward the children--they show the funny scenes with the dog and NO mention anywhere about the couple's fertility problems. So the kids are naturally begging to see the movie and it is hard as a parent to explain that it really is not appropriate. After a lot of convincing, we saw Bedtime Stories and everyone was happy.

lilybug's picture
by lilybug 1 yr. ago.

Then funny part was, parents seemed more upset about the thought of their kids seeing a dog die, then all the sexual stuff.

Cadydid's picture
by Cadydid 1 yr. ago.

A good general rule to follow is this: NEVER trust TV previews of movies, NEVER trust ratings (when have they every actually been right with the whole ratings thing???) and NEVER take your offspring to a movie without totally knowing exactly what is in the movie.

I know I use "never" a lot, but we've been burned before just like Lilybug and we've learned our lesson.

A good review site is Plugged In movie reviews.

http://www.pluggedinonline.com/movies/

They are really thorough with their reviews.

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