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MARMADUKEMovie Reviews
Family comedy based on the comic strip, about a suburban family that relocates to a new neighborhood with their havoc-wreaking Great Dane. Cast:Owen Wilson, Judy Greer, Lee Pace, William H. Macy, FergieDirector:Tom DeyRelease Date:June 4, 2010DVD Release:August 31, 2010From:20th Century FoxRating:PGLength:1 hr. 27 min.
Marmaduke played to poor reviews. • Tom Long wrote in the Detroit News, "...dog parties and dog dancing and dog surfing and dog peeing and dog shivering and dog digging, and it would all be a lot of doggone fun if it weren't so doggone dumb." • And Bruce DeMara wrote in the Toronto Star, "Bad dog movie. Baaaaad dog movie." More Reviews Below...
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: WEAK(cg) "This brings us to the small problem that the talking-animal effect -- which takes place throughout the movie -- looks distractingly jerky and fake."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 556 words, 06/03/10
Adam Markovitz, Entertainment Weekly: FAIR(cg) "...more of the same: a toddler-targeted comedy about a furry ball of id (in this case, a Great Dane voiced by Owen Wilson)... An afterthought of a plot..."(See all of Adam Markovitz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 115 words, 06/04/10
Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com: MODERATE(cg) "...congenial... If you like the comic strip, now in its 56th year, maybe you'll like it, maybe not. Marmaduke's personality isn't nearly as engaging as Garfield's."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 564 words, 06/03/10
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (11 Reviews)
Stephen Holden, New York Times: FAIR "...balances its giggly, gross-out gags with a stern moral agenda.... The well-cast voices for the expressionless animals are at least good for a few smirks."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 429 words, 06/04/10
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: POOR(cg) "...if this movie, like its producer's previous adaptation of 'Garfield,' had kept younger viewers in mind, it might not be so intolerable."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 435 words, 06/04/10
Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times: FAIR "...kind of fun. For about five minutes.... settles into a predictable family-film groove... Wilson's amiable vocal work keeps the predictability from becoming too grating."(See all of Glenn Whipp's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 306 words, 06/04/10
Kyle Smith, New York Post: MODERATE(cg) "...harmless.... features goofy party scenes and dull jokes based on things that come out of an animal's hind end -- but once in a while, some of it is funny..."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 374 words, 06/04/10
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...benefits from a clever script by Tim Rasmussen and Vince Di Meglio, both relative newcomers, and competent direction from Tom Dey."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 304 words, 06/04/10
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: MODERATE(cg) "...congenial... If you like the comic strip, now in its 56th year, maybe you'll like it, maybe not. Marmaduke's personality isn't nearly as engaging as Garfield's."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 564 words, 06/03/10
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: WEAK "Marmaduke tries to fit in at the new dog park. It's like 'high school for dogs,' explains a helpful mutt; why a dog would explain something in these terms is unclear..."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 204 words, 06/01/10
Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE(cg) "Speaking of the descent of man, William H. Macy makes an appearance as someone-or-other - if memory serves, didn't he used to be an actor?"(See all of Rick Groen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 591 words, 06/04/10
Radheyan Simonpillai, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...the film's few cute moments can't make up for an infantile screenplay that relies on fart jokes and pratfalls... Even dogs get tired of the same old tricks."(See all of Radheyan Simonpillai's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 163 words, 06/03/10
KEY CITIES (10 Reviews)
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: POOR(cg) "A few minutes into the movie, Marmaduke releases an explosive bit of flatulence in his owners' bed. 'I know, it's juvenile,' he says, 'but it's all I've got.' "(See all of Michael O'Sullivan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 451 words, 06/04/10
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: MODERATE(cg) "...has two things going for it, which overstay their welcome fast.... First is its conceit that the dog park is like high school... Second is Wilson's wifty delivery."(See all of Carrie Rickey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 402 words, 06/04/10
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: MODERATE(cg) "...harmless.... unless the sight of dogs partying with cheese balls to the tune of Sean Kingston throws more hypersensitive viewers into a sudden emotional freefall."(See all of Amy Biancolli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 562 words, 06/04/10
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: WEAK(cg) "...like Marmaduke, director Tom Dey falls back on juvenile, obvious gags and jokes, making 'Marmaduke' a mostly forgettable kids movie, nothing more."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 384 words, 06/04/10
Nancy Churnin, Dallas Morning News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Wilson's laid-back voice with its easy comic timing is the most appealing thing about 'Marmaduke'... the film, like the dog, is awkward and ungainly."(See all of Nancy Churnin's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 595 words, 06/04/10
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: POOR(cg) "...it's likely that your family will hate 'Marmaduke,' a sleepy carnival of talking animals based on a laughless comic strip that debuted in 1954 and refuses to go away."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 424 words, 06/04/10
Clint O'Connor, Cleveland Plain-Dealer: MODERATE(cg) "Well, at least the dogs are cute.... It lacks what we like to call humor, grace, a compelling story, interesting characters and magical moments."(See all of Clint O'Connor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 399 words, 06/04/10
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: POOR(cg) "The flea-bitten screenplay seems to have been plucked from the wastebasket of recycled ideas and rewritten by someone whose third language was English..."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 298 words, 06/04/10
Tom Long, Detroit News: POOR(cg) "...dog parties and dog dancing and dog surfing and dog peeing and dog shivering and dog digging, and it would all be a lot of doggone fun if it weren't so doggone dumb."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 278 words, 06/04/10
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (5 Reviews)
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: WEAK "Marmaduke tries to fit in at the new dog park. It's like 'high school for dogs,' explains a helpful mutt; why a dog would explain something in these terms is unclear..."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 204 words, 06/01/10
Alicia Potter, Boston Phoenix: POOR(cg) "...dreadful live-action adaptation of the long-running comic strip to the pantheon of dog flicks that'll make you cry -- for all the wrong reasons."(See all of Alicia Potter's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 148 words, 06/10/10
Radheyan Simonpillai, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "...the film's few cute moments can't make up for an infantile screenplay that relies on fart jokes and pratfalls... Even dogs get tired of the same old tricks."(See all of Radheyan Simonpillai's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 163 words, 06/03/10
HIGHBROW PRESS (2 Reviews)
Stephen Holden, New York Times: FAIR "...balances its giggly, gross-out gags with a stern moral agenda.... The well-cast voices for the expressionless animals are at least good for a few smirks."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 429 words, 06/04/10
Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times: FAIR "...kind of fun. For about five minutes.... settles into a predictable family-film groove... Wilson's amiable vocal work keeps the predictability from becoming too grating."(See all of Glenn Whipp's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 306 words, 06/04/10
MOVIE INDUSTRY (4 Reviews)
Joe Leydon, Daily Variety: WEAK "...the novelty of Owen Wilson providing a California stoner-style voice for the title character, a humongous Great Dane, wears thin after 15 minutes or so."(See all of Joe Leydon's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 795 words, 06/03/10
Luke Sader, Hollywood Reporter: MODERATE "There's no denying the Southern California setting makes for breezy if bland summertime fare, and children undoubtedly will be amused."(See all of Luke Sader's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 519 words, 06/03/10
Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times: FAIR "...kind of fun. For about five minutes.... settles into a predictable family-film groove... Wilson's amiable vocal work keeps the predictability from becoming too grating."(See all of Glenn Whipp's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 306 words, 06/04/10
Stephen Holden, New York Times: FAIR "...balances its giggly, gross-out gags with a stern moral agenda.... The well-cast voices for the expressionless animals are at least good for a few smirks."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 429 words, 06/04/10
19.3 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Marmaduke's reviews are separated by an average 19.3 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Marmaduke (28 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Marmaduke's reviews cover 40.8% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 10,901 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 389 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 3.1 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Marmaduke's reviews on average broke 3.1 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Marmaduke's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
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