It is a common warning among many that co-parenting a dog after a breakup is a terrible idea. Experts frequently claim such setups impede former couples from finding closure, cause practical headaches, lead to tension, and prove frustrating across the board. Seemingly, in a revelation fit for a streaming movie, it also makes the dogs themselves to become depressed.
Without minimizing the mental health of our pets – many owners attest to their profound sensitivity. To witness a masterclass in pet despair, simply recall a past film. I firmly believe that a dog like Merv, a scruffy terrier type portrayed by a talented dog named Gus, would have a hard time adjusting to split households. The idea of basing a full holiday film on such a setup works effectively seems rather doubtful.A Familiar Formula
To its credit, Merv, crafted by Dane Clark and Linsey Stewart and helmed by director Swale, makes no grand claims more profound than its premise. We have here a holiday release from a streaming platform giant – the depth remains surface-level. Its storyline unfolds as simple and direct: a separated couple Russ, played by Charlie Cox and Anna (Zooey Deschanel), confronting that their own sadness is matched by their dog's, embark on a therapeutic trip to a dog-friendly resort. At this location, predictably, they will surely stumble toward the idea that they are better together. The supporting cast – played by Chris Redd, Jasmine Mathews, and others – are crafted as quirky, thinly written, or broadly comic. Its aesthetic carries the feel of a platform's in-house production, with a holiday backdrop that is visibly contrived – as seen in fake snow piled on verdant foliage as a warm climate substitutes for a wintery Boston.
The Canine Charisma
Whether these standard ingredients come together into something enjoyable depends on the strength of the performances and the viewer's appetite for comfort viewing. For the comfort factor, Merv targets a specific viewer – those people who scroll endlessly for cute animal clips. It provides a wealth of canine-centric sequences. The primary selling point is the canine star, and while this leads to some clunky cuts between the pet's "lines" and the actors' responses, the movie delivers on dog beach fun, canine sorrow, and, ultimately, pure puppy happiness.
Where It Wobbles
The same praise cannot be applied for the human side of the story. Its style vacillates between emotional depth, zany antics, predictable love story, and outright slapstick, failing to master any one mode. The fault lies not with Cox's performance, who is willing to embrace the humiliating and funny demanded of the dog resort scenario. His performance contains a endearing lack of ego that provides much of the film's charm for this on-the-rocks couple. Her co-star Deschanel, true to her usual style, injects a particular brand of eccentricity that will be to your taste or not. Her portrayal comes across as a touch too detached, particularly when contrasted against Cox's vulnerable performance. (For what it's worth, the canine performer succeeds in acting depressed – not quite the award-winner from Anatomy of a Fall, he remains an excellent dog.)
Merv tries to add substance to the central romance for scenes without their pet – which is unfortunate, considering the title character is easily the most adorable aspect of this cute-aiming movie. Expectedly, it meets the bare minimum. The cause for the split would feel more grounded and mature with less exposition and less blunt explanation. As it stands, Merv is gentle and pleasant, hitting precisely what you anticipate. Creating a movie about dog co-parenting is not terrible – though I wouldn't call it a stroke of genius.
- Merv premieres on the Amazon platform on December 10th.
