Since winning an Oscar for his role in Little Miss Sunshine last year, Alan Arkin seems to have given up chasing awards and is taking roles in other offbeat comedies. He’ll be showing up in Get Smart this summer, alongside Sunshine co-star Steve Carell, and now he’s taken a role in the upcoming Marley & Me.

Marley is one of those books that became a hit thanks to people like my mom, who will read pretty much anything about life with dogs. It’s about a newspaper columnist (played by Owen Wilson) who adopts a Labrador retriever along with his wife (Jennifer Aniston) in order to prepare for being parents. Marley, of course, turns out to be a handful, but inevitably teaches the couple a lot of important lessons before all is said and done.

Arkin has joined as the main character’s editor at the paper, a role that will inevitably be gruff and critical until he softens at the presence of the dog. This is all conjecture, of course, but you know I’m right. I really don’t mind Arkin taking a role in the movie, since his presence will be welcome regardless of how good the movie is. It’s also going to be Owen Wilson’s first movie since last summer’s suicide attempt, which will surely garner it plenty of attention once it’s finally released. I’d rather see Arkin as a heroin-addicted grandpa again, but in the meantime, this will do.