This is a widely held belief among many that sharing custody a canine companion post-separation is ill-advised. Experts frequently claim such arrangements impede former couples from moving forward, lead to scheduling chaos, lead to tension, and become annoying across the board. As it turns out, as a development suited to a streaming movie, it reportedly leads to the dogs themselves to feel down.
Without minimizing the inner life of animals – pet parents observe their profound sensitivity. To witness a standout portrayal in canine melancholy, one need only look another performance. I firmly believe that a dog such as Merv, a wired-hair terrier mix portrayed by the canine actor Gus, would have a hard time coping with split households. The idea of basing a full holiday film around this situation works effectively is rather doubtful.Predictable Foundations
To its credit, Merv, the work of Dane Clark and Linsey Stewart and directed by Jessica Swale, doesn't pretend to be anything more than its premise. We have here a Christmas movie from a corporate studio – the depth remains surface-level. The plot proves to be straightforward: exes Russ (Charlie Cox) and Anna (Zooey Deschanel), confronting that their post-breakup gloom is matched by their dog's, embark on a uplifting getaway to a dog-friendly resort. Once there, as expected, they will surely rediscover the idea that they belong with each other. Side characters – played by familiar faces – fulfill roles eccentric, underutilized, or over-the-top. Visually has the quality of a platform's in-house production, with a holiday backdrop that is obviously artificial – think obvious snow effects surrounding lush pines as a summer location doubles as a cold December city.
The Canine Charisma
If these standard ingredients coalesce into something enjoyable depends on the execution and the viewer's appetite for cinematic comfort food. On the latter point, Merv knows its audience – the kind who scroll endlessly for pet content. Audiences receive a wealth of scenes focused on the pet. The main attraction is the dog, and even if it causes some awkward editing between the pet's "lines" and human reaction, the movie succeeds in showing walking sequences, dog depression, and, ultimately, pure puppy happiness.
The Human Element
Such effectiveness does not extend for the human side of the story. The tone shifts uneasily between relationship drama, zany antics, standard rom-com beats, and silly gags, never fully committing to a consistent feel. This is not Charlie Cox, who is willing to embrace the silliness and cringe inherent in the bizarre setting. Cox exhibits a charming humility that offers much of the film's charm for this on-the-rocks couple. Anna's portrayer, true to her usual style, brings a distinctive offbeat energy that will be to your taste or not. Her portrayal comes across as a touch too detached, notably when alongside Cox's vulnerable performance. (It should be noted, Gus the Dog is convincing at flopping and whining – he may not be a canine thespian of that caliber, he's definitely an excellent dog.)
The film attempts to add substance to the couple's history for sequences focusing solely on them – a bit of a pity, considering Merv is by far the most adorable aspect of this cute-aiming movie. As one might predict, it just about gets by. The cause for their original breakup could have been more grounded and mature with more screen time and more subtle storytelling. Ultimately, Merv is slight and sweet, hitting precisely what you anticipate. Creating a movie on this shared-custody premise has potential – but it's not exactly a great one either.
- Merv streams on the Amazon platform starting December 10.
