Marley & Me

Bland escapism may well be the order of the day in these troubled times, and certainly if Marley & Me's box-office success is any measure, we're looking for the kind of golden-tinged, honey-dipped daydream once offered by 1990s Hollywood.

Here is the perfectly-highlighted Jennifer Aniston, star of that decade, alongside good-time surfer dude Owen Wilson. Together they play a couple of newly-married journalists from Michigan who move to the sun-drenched shores of Florida and - to postpone parenthood - adopt a yellow Labrador named Marley.

It is possibly the blondest movie of all time. Based on John Grogan's best-selling memoir, the arc of Marley & Me is predictable: unruly dog teaches owners valuable life-lessons about love, partnership, family and perseverance. There are some comic moments of course - examples of canine mischief, exasperated dog trainers, and fierce rivalry between newspaper journalists - but they are always tempered by cuddles and cuteness and shots of Aniston's lovely hair.

This is no revelation: Marley & Me is precisely what you might expect and possibly just what you need right now - a nice bit of cinematic mollycoddling. ·