It is a common warning in certain circles that sharing custody a dog after a breakup is a recipe for trouble. The consensus suggests such setups impede former couples from healing, lead to scheduling chaos, spark arguments, and become annoying across the board. As it turns out, in a revelation worthy of a direct-to-platform film, it reportedly leads to the dogs themselves to feel down.
While respecting the emotional well-being of animals – many owners observe their deep emotional capacity. To witness a prime example in dog sorrow, simply recall a past film. It seems certain that a dog of Merv's nature, a scruffy terrier type portrayed by a talented dog named Gus, would struggle adapting to divided living arrangements. If this concept a feature-length romcom around this situation holds water remains debatable at best.A Familiar Formula
To its credit, Merv, written by the writing duo and directed by director Swale, doesn't pretend to be deeper than its premise. It functions as a seasonal offering from a streaming platform giant – the ambitions remains surface-level. Its storyline is destined to be uncomplicated: exes Russ, played by Charlie Cox and Anna, portrayed by Zooey Deschanel, realizing that their own sadness is matched by their dog's, embark on a therapeutic trip to a dog-friendly resort. Once there, as expected, they will undoubtedly realize the idea that they should reunite. Side characters – including familiar faces – are crafted as eccentric, underutilized, or over-the-top. The film's look has the quality of a platform's in-house production, with a Christmas setting that is visibly contrived – exemplified by obvious snow effects piled on lush pines as a warm climate stands in for the Northeast.
The Dog's Domain
Whether these predictable parts coalesce into a pleasant experience hinges on the execution and the viewer's appetite for comfort viewing. Regarding the second aspect, Merv targets a specific viewer – the kind who seek out for pet content. It provides a series of canine-centric sequences. The central draw is the canine star, and while this leads to some clunky cuts between the pet's "lines" and human reaction, the movie succeeds in showing dog beach fun, canine sorrow, and, finally, doggie joy.
The Two-Legged Cast
This level of success cannot be applied for the interpersonal drama. Its style wavers between serious study, wacky comedy, standard rom-com beats, and physical comedy, failing to master a consistent feel. This is not Cox's performance, who is willing to embrace the silliness and cringe inherent in the unusual premise. His performance contains a endearing lack of ego that provides a significant portion of the appeal for this ostensibly perfect couple. Her co-star Deschanel, as is her trademark, brings a distinctive offbeat energy that will click for some but not others. Her portrayal seems a bit too dry, notably when alongside Cox's vulnerable performance. (On another note, Gus the Dog succeeds in looking despondent – while no Messi from that acclaimed drama, he is still a very good boy.)
The film attempts to add substance to the couple's history for sequences focusing solely on them – a regrettable choice, considering the dog is easily the most adorable aspect of this feel-good picture. Unsurprisingly, it just about gets by. The catalyst for the split might seem more grounded and mature with greater exploration and less blunt explanation. Ultimately, Merv is gentle and pleasant, hitting all its marks. Creating a movie with this canine conflict has potential – though it's not exactly a brilliant concept.
- Merv becomes available on Amazon Prime Video this December.
