LauderBlog
Dec 30: Marley and Me and Me
Posted On: December 30, 2008 8:45 AM
Posted By: LauderBLOGGER
Related Subjects: Greater Fort Lauderdale
No, Owen Wilson doesn’t look anything like John Grogan. Or sound anything like him. Or really behave like him either, based on what I know of John. But somehow the actor caught part of the personality of a colleague I spent time around many years ago. Of course I’m referring to the new flick, Marley & Me, which was based on John’s best-seller. I liked it, though I sat in the theater this weekend watching the film from an unusual perspective. I had worked with John Grogan in the Sun-Sentinel newsroom during a large chunk of his Marley period. We’re Facebook friends today. So that makes him grist for my blog – sorry John, but I know you’ll understand. Just as I know you’ll forgive me for telling folks that Owen Wilson and you have about as much in common physically as Tom Cruise and you. The real writer is a red-haired Irish Catholic who had a full red beard when he worked at the newspaper and spoke without Wilson’s Texas twang.
Yet as I watched more and more of the film, I found myself recognizing some of John. That was the odd thing. Though not close newsroom pals, we were friendly colleagues who spoke around the water cooler and at parties and sometimes at Happy Hours. Both Michiganders who’d attended smaller colleges in that state, we soon discovered some common ground. I genuinely liked him and I think he liked me. To my mind, John was a good reporter who also was a good guy. That’s the part the movie seemed to get right.
Newsroom scenes – hmmm, not so much. No one who ever worked at the Sun-Sentinel would recognize much of the atmosphere or conversation at the onscreen newspaper. Doubling his pay? Taking a paid month off? Uh, I can’t recall any editor ever saying something like that. To anybody. Believe me, word would have gotten around if it had happened. But the film does show the beauty of South Florida. The beaches, the sunshine, the outdoor restaurants and all those gorgeous bodies. Marley & Me definitely got that right. So right, actually, that this website even has a special promotion for a "Marley & Me doggy vacay," something you can learn about on the www.sunny.org home page. The movie really shows why the Fort Lauderdale area is such a popular spot to live and visit. That was refreshing to see on film. And it’s great to enjoy such a hit by a nice colleague I happen to know a bit. Hey, I even commented on a recent Facebook photo of John with Jennifer Aniston’s arms draped around him. Good for you, buddy. Enjoy it. I still may not understand why anyone would want to leave South Florida for Pennsylvania. But having Jennifer Aniston in a movie about your life, well, that part I can understand.
Yet as I watched more and more of the film, I found myself recognizing some of John. That was the odd thing. Though not close newsroom pals, we were friendly colleagues who spoke around the water cooler and at parties and sometimes at Happy Hours. Both Michiganders who’d attended smaller colleges in that state, we soon discovered some common ground. I genuinely liked him and I think he liked me. To my mind, John was a good reporter who also was a good guy. That’s the part the movie seemed to get right.
Newsroom scenes – hmmm, not so much. No one who ever worked at the Sun-Sentinel would recognize much of the atmosphere or conversation at the onscreen newspaper. Doubling his pay? Taking a paid month off? Uh, I can’t recall any editor ever saying something like that. To anybody. Believe me, word would have gotten around if it had happened. But the film does show the beauty of South Florida. The beaches, the sunshine, the outdoor restaurants and all those gorgeous bodies. Marley & Me definitely got that right. So right, actually, that this website even has a special promotion for a "Marley & Me doggy vacay," something you can learn about on the www.sunny.org home page. The movie really shows why the Fort Lauderdale area is such a popular spot to live and visit. That was refreshing to see on film. And it’s great to enjoy such a hit by a nice colleague I happen to know a bit. Hey, I even commented on a recent Facebook photo of John with Jennifer Aniston’s arms draped around him. Good for you, buddy. Enjoy it. I still may not understand why anyone would want to leave South Florida for Pennsylvania. But having Jennifer Aniston in a movie about your life, well, that part I can understand.
RSSComments
The film I watched several months ago (as soon as managed to download it by means of http://rapid4me.com/ ) , but watched it only once. Perhaps it is not enough to get all those details you are speaking about
Posted By Anonymous Poster | 02/10/2009 12:46 AM
Posted By Anonymous Poster | 02/10/2009 12:46 AM
Posted By Anonymous | 12/30/2008 9:48 AM