A beloved but very depressed pet drives a broken-up couple to reconsider their future together. Though this pic isn’t quite as cute as it wants to be, it has a nice resolution. But it sports some sexualized quips and an implied sexually permissive worldview, along with some boozy scenes—all elements that detract from Merv’s intended PG-rated family friendliness.
Merv is down. I mean he’s really down.
This sweet little terrier is so depressed that even his owners are starting to notice. (Which is quite a feat for a couple of generally unobservant humans, don’t you know.) Russ and Anna notice that Merv doesn’t want to play toss the ball. They notice that his tail droops rather than wags. They notice that Merv isn’t even all that enthusiastic about mealtimes.
Of course, owners Russ and Anna take notice of these things … separately. That’s because this former couple recently broke up, and they each only see their beloved pup when it’s their week for visitation.
And that, frankly, is the very reason that Merv is so down.
In fact, the only time that Merv’s ears perk up lately is when his owners are in the same room together. That happens on occasion. But usually, when they’re together, Russ and Anna start arguing over one little negative thing or another, and Merv can’t help but bury his furry head in his bed and wait to see who going to be tugging his leash next.
Still, Russ and Anna can’t understand what Merv’s problem is. They feed him the right food. They take him on walks, buy him the best toys. They lavish Merv with love. It’s not until Russ decides to take Merv to the vet—hoping there might be a quick fix pill or something—that the vet suggests that Merv is suffering from depression because of Russ and Anna’s breakup. And if they can’t do something about the dog’s situation, the stress could have a dangerous impact on his heart.
Hoping to shake Merv out of his funk, Russ decides to take him to Florida for a much-needed getaway. He reasons that everybody gets a little blue when winter blows in with its cloudy skies and snow. Russ even finds a nice beachside resort geared specifically for pups.
However, despite the sun and surf, Merv is still rather glum. Then Anna shows up unexpectedly. If their canine baby needs a little extra love, doesn’t it make sense that the people who love him most both apply a little extra affection?
But here’s the thing about doing loving things to mend a broken heart: It can be contagious.
[This section contains spoilers.]
With time, Russ and Anna realize that they have a lot in common. And, not only do they really care about one another, but they’ve also missed one another a great deal. It’s both Russ and Anna’s lack of clear communication that drove them apart. They talk earnestly and make amends for their past miscommunications.
Russ’ mom and stepdad help Russ and Anna think through their choices. And in the end, their parental encouragements help the young couple reconsider the future and express their love for one another.
While at the pet resort, Anna and Russ meet a spiritual “animal healer” who offers the couple—much to their chagrin—a free reading for their pet. She claims to see spirits in the air around them. And with a psychic-like flair, the woman tells the pair things that she senses Merv is feeling.
Russ and Anna wear matching Christmas sweaters that say: “We Wish You a Mervy Christ Russ, Anna Happy New Year.” Christmas is mentioned several times.
It can be presumed that Anna and Russ lived together before their breakup. And the film generally treats premarital sex as a given.
There are a number of sexual gags woven into the movie’s dialogue. For instance, Anna’s friend signs her up for a dating app in the hope that Anna will get back out on the dating scene and “find a stud.” After a date with a guy from the app, Anna tells her friend that the man, “Buttered my bread.” “Yes,” her enthusiastic female friend crows. “No,” Anna corrects her, “He buttered my actual bread.”
Anna meets several men who flirt awkwardly with her. Elsewhere, Russ’ mother and stepfather joke about being intimate and giving him “another heart attack.”
At the Florida resort, we see men and women in swimsuits. Anna gets into a hot tub wearing a suit with a lowcut top.
Russ meets a woman at the resort and they get along quite well. They kiss. But then Russ pulls back, realizing that he still loves someone else.
Anna jokes with Russ about birds plucking her “eyes out like Tippy Hedren.”
There’s one s-word and several misuses of God’s name in the dialogue.
There’s quite a bit of imbibing in the movie mix. Between meals, parties and other celebratory moments Russ, Anna and others drink beer, wine and mixed drinks. We see a picture of Russ and Anna drinking at a wedding. The couple also ends up in a hot tub swigging from a bottle of tequila. In one of these instances, Russ gets decidedly drunk.
A vet suggests that Merv may have to take a pet version of Xanax for his depression.
When Russ heads off with Merv on their vacation, he lies to his boss and repeatedly pretends he’s sick at home. One of Anna’s patients is a kleptomaniac who repeatedly steals things from Anna’s office. Russ steals a golf cart in Florida.
We find out later in the movie that Anna can’t have children—and that was one of the reasons that she rejected Russ’ marriage proposal, since he wants children. She expresses her feelings of guilt for this assumption.
Let’s face it, the movie logline for Merv promises fun: A downhearted but snuggle-worthy pup wants to bring his split-up owners back together. It just appeals to our that’s so cute rom-com instincts. And the fact that this romantic comedy also stars Zooey Deschanel—the long-running human equivalent of adorable—ought to seal the deal. But … not so much.
The only content fleas in the mix are some light sexual winks in the dialogue, a little booziness and an implied worldview that embraces unmarried couples downing some wine and rolling into the sack together. Those are things that feel rather ubiquitous and almost tame in light of today’s movie world. But they’re also things that’ll cue Mom and Dad to keep the kids away. And that’s not such a great thing for a PG-rated film that’s trying to lure a family audience into its furry embrace.
However, despite a few nice moments in the film’s resolution, even grown-up movie watchers are likely to find fewer doggy treats to chew on in this movie than they’d like. The central couple—played by Zooey Deschanel and Charlie Cox—don’t really work together very well. The script isn’t particularly funny. And the dog lead is about as endearing as your neighbor’s backyard, barking mutt.
As a whole, Merv is kinda like that adopted pet that you can’t train to stay off the couch and always do his business outside. You really wanna like him, but he’s just not that lovable.
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.
