Marley & Me (PG)

PING! An email arrives, from the good people at 20th Century Fox. "We want you to see the new Jennifer Aniston movie," it reads. "Bring tissues."

Which is a promising start to the week, in any man's book.

Anyway, turns out it's a family-friendly weepie also starring Owen Wilson and a labrador.

And if you've seen the posters, you might-justifiably-be wondering why the heck this film is worth getting excited about.

Jen's career has hardly been a string of hits since Friends mercifully ground to a halt. And heaven knows, we've all been burned by dog films before.

Notable offenders include Beethoven (made by a bunch of Wagners) and Scooby-Doo (quick review: Scooby-Don't).

Not forgetting that rotten Lassie remake, where the only chump who should have ended up down a well was the director.

Fortunately, Marley & Me is much, much more than just another dog movie. Because despite the lightweight cast and cheese-tastic ad campaign, this is a warm, funny and deeply moving film-very suitable for families and couples alike.

And it's got a surprising amount of wise things to say-while still serving up plenty of uncomplicated moments where you get to coo at the ickle puppies.

Based on the memoirs of US writer John Grogan, Marley & Me is the story of a married couple building their life together, starting with an adorable but badly behaved pet labrador.

Owen Wilson, who looks even more like a puppy than the ruddy dog, stars as struggling reporter John-and Aniston is his more successful journalist wife Jenny. The film kicks off with the pair's wedding night-not the whole night, this is a PG after all-where they decide to move to Florida and land jobs at competing newspapers.

And shortly after the move, when Jen starts getting broody, Owen decides to buy a pet to see if they're "ready for parenthood".

That pet is Marley, who is named after the reggae star Bob and has a severe case of the munchies to match -he chews through every piece of furniture he can get his teeth on.

And to be honest, there's not much more to the film than that.

John and Jenny settle down, start a family, move house, change jobs-and all the while Marley's by their side, growing older with the pair of them. It's literally a dog's life.

But what turns it from an uninteresting comedy drama into a beautiful ray of cinema sunshine are the unexpectedly strong performances from Jen and Owen-and one hell of a well-written script.

If there's one thing Owen Wilson does well, it's being likeable. And if there's one thing Jennifer Aniston does well . . . well, I'll get back to you on that -but whatever it is, she's doing it here.

The chemistry between the two is great and also deeply realistic. There are highs and lows in their relationship, pointless fights that last for days- everything's spot-on apart from the Hollywood hair.

The expertly penned script, brilliantly adapted from Grogan's book by Scott Frank and Don Roos, is as free from clichés as you could hope for.

There's no low-rent slapstick, no far-fetched romcom plot twists-and the cuteness factor is kept carefully in check at all times.

Even the MONTAGE scene is fresh and brilliant, for crying out loud.

The only contrivance comes in the final reel, where the film doesn't rest until it's wrung every last tear out of your dribbling eye-sockets. And believe me, you WILL cry.

This is one of the most cynically effective weepies I've seen in a long while. And although I'm normally immune to sob-story endings, it played me like a ukulele.

As heartwarmers go, they don't come much toastier than this. Yes, it's completely inoffensive and shamelessly mainstream.

But Marley & Me's a welcome reminder that this kind of film doesn't have to be lazily-made, pay-the-bills cr*p.

So, not only is it the greatest film of Jennifer Aniston's career and the best dog movie in ages - it's also really good.

OUT WEDNESDAY

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