‘MERV’ Rated PG
The holiday season continues into the new year if one desires to catch up on films with a Christmas backdrop, if not an outright yuletide theme, that are running on streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime.
In Amazon Prime’s “Merv,” set during a wintry holiday season in freezing Boston, the titular character is a wirehaired terrier (played by Gus). Other dogs named Gus have been entertainers, but not one with the famous acclaim of a Houston rescue dog.
Dogs are inherently lovable for the most part, and the story of Gus the dog, an abused mixed-breed canine rescued in 2018 who survived torture that caused massive swelling of his head, ends with a feel-good story of adoption by a caring owner.
Fortunately, “Merv” is not one of those tearjerker movies with a tragic fate for the dog. What’s interesting here is that Merv has a range of emotions that eclipse those of his loving owners, Anna (Zooey Deschanel) and Russ (Charlie Cox), who have split from living together and have agreed to joint custody.
“Merv” is upbeat despite the discord affecting the humans, and that’s due to the dog’s uncanny ability of showing expressive glances and doing simple things like sitting still in bath water with soap bubbles crowning his head. He looks like a dog that would be easily picked at a shelter.
The film opens in Russ’ untidy apartment littered with dirty dishes, pizza boxes, Chinese takeout cartons, dog toys, among other detritus. Russ is snuggling with Merv on a sofa that looks like it was rescued from a dumpster.
However, today is a sad one for Russ, since his week of guardianship has come to an end. For his part, Merv exhibits signs of depression as he’s apparently not keen on being shuttled back and forth and would prefer a reunion of his parental figures.
Given snowy conditions, Merv is dressed in a doggie parka and makeshift booties to make the trek to Anna’s. Unlike Russ’ unkempt abode, Anna’s apartment is more welcoming, but Merv can’t hide his disappointment of shuffling between broken homes.
Meanwhile, back at his place, Russ is viewing videos of happier times on Facebook and checking his Instagram account of The Mervinator, where his photos of the pooch are superimposed on a dinosaur, martial artist, flying eagle, and Mount Rushmore.
An elementary school teacher, Russ has great rapport with his students, who know a lot about the Mervinator and are inquisitive about his personal life, wondering if he’s married or dating someone.
The school’s Vice Principal Desmond (Chris Redd) also takes an interest in Russ’ personal life, suggesting that he grab a beer with his mortgage broker, while observing Russ has been a miserable jerk lately for not joining him at a game and missing out on birthday pizza.
As an eye doctor, Anna treats patients who are equally probing, with an elderly lady asking about a planned vacation with her handsome boyfriend in a picture frame that was once on her desk.
On a blind date at a trendy restaurant, Anna meets a pretentious lug who can’t even correctly pronounce the name of his supposedly favorite wine and insufferably suggests they should either split a few appetizers or go straight to dessert.
When the blind date says her sharing custody of a dog is a red flag, that is an immediate warning sign, which is followed by Anna asking him about the one thing he would save in his burning condo, and it turns out to be his safe rather than a pet or a loved one. Good riddance to this loser.
Like nervous parents, Anna and Russ take Merv to the vet because he’s sad and listless, only to find out he’s healthy. That the dog has been mopey all the time makes no sense to his guardians because of the notion they hold that Christmas is the dog’s favorite holiday.
Maybe a change of scenery will improve Merv’s spirits. To that end, Russ decides that his week with the dog will be spent at a beach resort in Florida that caters to canines with all sorts of dog-centric activities.
Not to be left out of the fun, Anna decides to surprise Russ and Merv with an impromptu visit to the resort. By this point, you would be thinking that Merv will be the catalyst for the couple getting back together.
This being a romantic comedy, a twist is thrown into the equation when Russ meets attractive single dog parent Jocelyn (Ellyn Jameson) on the beach and gets invited to her dog’s birthday party.
While “Merv” has lovable characters with Zooey Deschanel and Charlie Cox as the couple that look cute together, the movie does not rise above being a formulaic romantic comedy that we’ve seen many times before.
The appeal of this film is probably for dog lovers only, given how Merv’s cuteness and charisma carry “Merv” for light-hearted entertainment that will likely soon be forgotten.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.