Merv Review – A Four-Legged Actor Steals the Spotlight in Amazon’s Formulaic Christmas Romcom

This is a widely held belief for numerous people that jointly caring for a dog following a split is ill-advised. The consensus suggests such situations impede ex-partners from healing, lead to scheduling chaos, fuel disputes, and prove frustrating across the board. Seemingly, as a development fit for a streaming movie, it can even cause the dogs themselves to become depressed.

Without minimizing the emotional well-being of animals – pet parents attest to their deep emotional capacity. If you need standout portrayal in dog sorrow, simply recall a past film. It seems certain that a dog such as Merv, a wired-hair terrier mix portrayed by a talented dog named Gus, would find it difficult adapting to split households. The idea of basing an entire Christmas romance on such a setup is sustainable seems a questionable prospect.

A Familiar Formula

Honestly, Merv, crafted by its screenwriters and helmed by director Swale, never aspires to be more profound than its premise. This is a seasonal offering from a major tech-and-media conglomerate – the ambitions remains surface-level. The plot is destined to be straightforward: exes Russ, played by Charlie Cox and Anna (Zooey Deschanel), realizing that their individual funk is rivaled only by their dog's, take a cheer-up vacation to a canine-centric retreat. At this location, predictably, they will undoubtedly stumble toward the idea that they belong with each other. Side characters – played by Chris Redd, Jasmine Mathews, and others – are crafted as eccentric, underutilized, or over-the-top. Its aesthetic has the quality of a platform's in-house production, with a Christmas setting that is clearly manufactured – think flurries surrounding green trees as North Carolina substitutes for a cold December city.

The Canine Charisma

How these standard ingredients come together into a pleasant experience rests upon the strength of the performances and the viewer's appetite for cinematic comfort food. For the comfort factor, Merv knows its audience – individuals who scroll endlessly for dog videos. Audiences receive a plethora of scenes focused on the pet. The main attraction is Merv himself, and while this leads to some awkward editing between the pet's "lines" and people's faces, the movie delivers on walking sequences, canine sorrow, and, ultimately, pure puppy happiness.

The Two-Legged Cast

The same praise is not earned for the romantic plot. The film's approach wavers between serious study, broad humor, standard rom-com beats, and physical comedy, not quite landing any one mode. This is not the actor playing Russ, who is willing to embrace the silliness and cringe required by the dog resort scenario. Cox exhibits a likable self-deprecation that provides much of the film's charm for this on-the-rocks couple. Zooey Deschanel, true to her usual style, imparts a distinctive offbeat energy that will be to your taste or not. Her Anna can feel a little too aloof, notably when alongside Cox's vulnerable performance. (It should be noted, Gus the Dog manages flopping and whining – not quite Messi from that acclaimed drama, he is still a scene-stealer.)

The film attempts to provide depth to Anna and Russ's relationship for scenes without their pet – a regrettable choice, given that the dog is undoubtedly the cutest element of this cute-aiming movie. Unsurprisingly, it meets the bare minimum. The cause for their original breakup might seem more adult and realistic with more screen time and less blunt explanation. Ultimately, Merv is light and sugary, meeting every expected note. Making a film on this shared-custody premise isn't a bad idea – though it's hardly a brilliant concept.

• Merv streams on Prime Video this December.