Sunday, December 28, 2008
A+E, Movies, Reviews

Brad versus Jen

Curious ‘Benjamin Button’ trumps ‘Marley & Me’

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

“THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON”
Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett
Directed by David Fincher
Rated PG-13
Wide release


Barry Wetcher/20th Century Fox
Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston

“MARLEY & ME”
Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston
Directed by David Frankel
Rated
Wide release

BY STEVE WARREN

“Curious” is the word for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” The content of this romantic epic qualifies it as a “chick flick,” but the gimmick that grafts Brad Pitt’s cosmetically aged face onto smaller people’s bodies will attract effects geeks who might otherwise stay away. It’s a story about the inevitability of death that enhances your appreciation of life, and its potential, at any age. Most curious of all: Like life, it seems longer at the beginning than at the end, even though nearly three hours have passed.

Freely adapted from an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story, “Button” is about a person born in 1918 with the body of a man in his 80s (only smaller), who ages backwards. When Benjamin (Pitt) meets Daisy, the love of his life, she’s 7 and he’s not much older, but looks like her great-grandfather. They’ll hook up when they’re both at their peak, aware that they’re traveling through time in opposite directions. An unexpected coda to one character’s story emphasizes Benjamin’s message: “It’s never too late—or too early, in my case—to be who you want to be.”

A framework sets the story as Hurricane Katrina approaches New Orleans, with Daisy (Cate Blanchett) on her deathbed. Wanting to spill a lifetime of secrets (which she’s had no reason for withholding), she asks her daughter Caroline (Julia Ormond) to read to her from Benjamin’s diary.

Eric Roth’s screenplay is rich with the kind of detail most movies leave out. Director David Fincher acts as a ringmaster, but for all the makeup and effects tricks in play, he keeps the human story front and center. “The Curious Case...” is cute as a button, and should rake in the Benjamins.

“Marley & Me” also focuses on a human story (despite being named for a dog) and will probably make a lot of money. The “Me” of the title is John Grogan (Owen Wilson), who marries fellow journalist Jenny (Jennifer Aniston). They settle in South Florida, where she takes a job writing features for the Palm Beach Post, while he does menial reporting for the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, eventually becoming a columnist. (His columns eventually became a book, which became this movie.)

When Jenny starts talking about a family, John’s best friend Sebastian (Eric Dane) advises him to buy her a puppy. Enter Marley, “the world’s worst dog,” a yellow Lab as destructive and as omnivorous as a shark. Left alone for an hour, he can destroy a garage; left with a housesitter while the Grogans take a belated honeymoon, he can destroy an entire house. He dominates the movie during puppyhood, flunking out of obedience school when he humps the trainer (Kathleen Turner).

Once the children start arriving—prompting Jenny to become a stay-at-home mom, which puts a strain on her and their marriage—Marley becomes less of a character than a prop, trotted out when a sense of chaos is called for. Eventually he comes into his own again, but only because he’s old and sick. 

The screenplay fits Wilson’s personality, and he and Aniston have excellent chemistry. Director David Frankel (“The Devil Wears Prada”) handles the comedy and the drama well: “Marley & Me” makes you laugh at mundane activities like getting married, adopting a dog and having children—and then it makes you cry. But dog people may not appreciate being manipulated when this light comedy becomes the tearjerker of the year. After laughing—well, chuckling—for an hour and a half, some of us don’t want to spend the next half-hour reaching for the tissues. Benjamin Button: 3 STARS Marley & Me: 2.5 STARS

This review is dedicated to Atlanta actor Ted Manson (1926-2008), who gets big laughs in a small role in “Button” as a man who was struck by lightning seven times. SP