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It is a common warning among many that sharing custody a canine companion post-separation is ill-advised. Experts frequently claim such situations hinder individuals from healing, cause practical headaches, spark arguments, and prove frustrating across the board. As it turns out, and in a twist worthy of a streaming movie, it also makes the canine in question to become depressed.

Without minimizing the emotional well-being of animals – many owners speak of their remarkable empathy. If you need standout portrayal in dog sorrow, one need only look a past film. I firmly believe that a dog like Merv, a spirited little dog portrayed by Gus the Dog, would struggle coping with split households. If this concept a full holiday film around this situation holds water remains debatable at best.

Predictable Foundations

Fairness demands noting, Merv, written by Dane Clark and Linsey Stewart and helmed by playwright Jessica Swale, makes no grand claims more profound than a light film. It functions as a seasonal offering from a major tech-and-media conglomerate – the depth are modest. The plot unfolds as simple and direct: a separated couple Russ (Charlie Cox) and Anna (Zooey Deschanel), confronting that their own sadness is rivaled only by their dog's, take a therapeutic trip to a luxury pet hotel. At this location, predictably, they will surely stumble toward the idea that they should reunite. Side characters – featuring Chris Redd, Jasmine Mathews, and others – fulfill roles quirky, thinly written, or broadly comic. The film's look has the quality of a branded content, with a holiday backdrop that is obviously artificial – think fake snow piled on lush pines as a warm climate doubles as the Northeast.

The Dog's Domain

How these predictable parts come together into a pleasant experience rests upon the actors' work and the viewer's appetite for comfort viewing. For the comfort factor, Merv targets a specific viewer – those people who scroll endlessly for pet content. It provides a series of scenes focused on the pet. The central draw is Merv himself, and while this leads to some clunky cuts between what the dog does and the actors' responses, the movie succeeds in showing walking sequences, dog depression, and, ultimately, pure puppy happiness.

The Human Element

This level of success is not earned for the romantic plot. Its style vacillates between serious study, wacky comedy, standard rom-com beats, and silly gags, not quite landing a single genre. No blame falls on Cox's performance, who is fully game the silliness and cringe demanded of the dog resort scenario. His performance contains a likable self-deprecation that provides much of the film's charm for this on-the-rocks couple. Her co-star Deschanel, true to her usual style, brings a certain millennial quirkiness that will click for some but not others. Her portrayal seems a little too aloof, particularly when paired with Cox's heartfelt sincerity. (It should be noted, Gus the Dog succeeds in looking despondent – he may not be a canine thespian of that caliber, he is still a very good boy.)

The story strives to add substance to Anna and Russ's relationship for scenes without their pet – a regrettable choice, given that the title character is undoubtedly the cutest element of this film designed for charm. Expectedly, it just about gets by. The cause for their original breakup could have been more adult and realistic with more screen time and more subtle storytelling. As it stands, Merv is light and sugary, fulfilling every expected note. Creating a movie about dog co-parenting isn't a bad idea – but I wouldn't call it a brilliant concept.

• Merv streams on Amazon Prime Video on December 10th.