This is an often-repeated piece of advice for numerous people that sharing custody a pet after a breakup is ill-advised. The consensus suggests such situations prevent individuals from finding closure, cause practical headaches, fuel disputes, and become annoying across the board. As it turns out, as a development fit for a streaming movie, it also makes the canine in question to experience sadness.
While respecting the inner life of animals – countless people attest to their deep emotional capacity. To witness a standout portrayal in pet despair, one need only look recent cinema. It seems certain that a dog of Merv's nature, a scruffy terrier type portrayed by Gus the Dog, would struggle adapting to life in two homes. Whether this premise a feature-length romcom around this situation works effectively remains a questionable prospect.Predictable Foundations
Fairness demands noting, Merv, written by the writing duo and directed by playwright Jessica Swale, makes no grand claims anything more than what it is. This is a Christmas movie from a major tech-and-media conglomerate – the depth is limited. The narrative is destined to be simple and direct: a separated couple Russ (Charlie Cox) and Anna (Zooey Deschanel), realizing that their own sadness is surpassed by their dog's, decide on a cheer-up vacation to a luxury pet hotel. There, inevitably, they will surely realize the idea that they should reunite. Side characters – featuring familiar faces – fulfill roles eccentric, underutilized, or over-the-top. The film's look has the quality of a branded content, with a holiday backdrop that is clearly manufactured – think obvious snow effects surrounding lush pines as a summer location substitutes for the Northeast.
The Dog's Domain
Whether these standard ingredients come together into something enjoyable depends on the strength of the performances and one's taste for cinematic comfort food. For the comfort factor, Merv knows its audience – those people who browse regularly for dog videos. Audiences receive a wealth of scenes focused on the pet. The primary selling point is the dog, and though it results in some stilted moments between what the dog does and the actors' responses, the movie delivers on canine party antics, dog depression, and, ultimately, pure puppy happiness.
Where It Wobbles
This level of success is not earned for the romantic plot. Its style wavers between serious study, zany antics, standard rom-com beats, and silly gags, never fully committing to any one mode. This is not the actor playing Russ, who is willing to embrace the absurd and awkward inherent in the unusual premise. Cox exhibits a endearing lack of ego that supplies a significant portion of the appeal for this seemingly ideal couple. Zooey Deschanel, as is her trademark, injects a certain millennial quirkiness that will click for some but not others. The character seems a bit too dry, especially when paired with Cox's heartfelt sincerity. (On another note, Gus the Dog manages looking despondent – not quite the award-winner from Anatomy of a Fall, he remains a scene-stealer.)
Merv tries to add substance to Anna and Russ's relationship for sequences focusing solely on them – a bit of a pity, considering Merv is undoubtedly the cutest element of this cute-aiming movie. As one might predict, it achieves only baseline competence. The catalyst for their separation could have been more grounded and mature with more screen time and less blunt explanation. In the end, Merv is light and sugary, meeting precisely what you anticipate. Creating a movie with this canine conflict has potential – though it's hardly a stroke of genius.
- Merv premieres on the Amazon platform on December 10th.
