Exclusive Interview
‘Merv’s Zooey Deschanel & Charlie Cox Detail ‘Craziest’ Moment of Holiday Rom-Com Shoot (VIDEO)
What To Know
- In a new interview with Swooon, Zooey Deschanel and Charlie Cox discuss their new holiday rom-com Merv with director Jessica Swale.
- They break down what it was like to film at the beach for this festive flick.
- Plus, they reveal their favorite swoony moments from holiday classics.
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Merv.]
Your next holiday rom-com has arrived on Prime Video. In Merv, broken-up pair Anna (Zooey Deschanel) and Russ (Charlie Cox), who are perfect for one another, find themselves coming back together thanks to the film’s titular pup.
When Merv begins to struggle with depression, Anna and Russ, who co-dog-parent, try to come up with a solution to the pup’s problem, unaware that it mostly has to do with their breakup. Russ decides to take Merv on a beach getaway to a special dog resort, intending it to be a boys’ trip, but that reality is shifted when Anna shows up.
As they partake in various dog-friendly activities, the former couple begins to remember what they had before it all went wrong. But why did the couple break up? Little pieces of why Anna and Russ parted ways emerge in hints throughout the film, but culminate in a beachfront confrontation where viewers learn that the breakup stemmed from infertility, and Anna learning that she wouldn’t be able to have children.
Wilson Webb / Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC
According to the couple’s conversation, Russ had tried to make Anna feel better despite the heartbreaking revelation, and it pushed her away. As for using a rom-com to address the serious subject of infertility, director Jessica Swale tells Swooon, “I felt really strongly that it was important to bring it into the movie because when you go through those things, you don’t necessarily, it doesn’t have to be everything in your life… This movie is about regular people who have very normal experiences, have broken up, they’ve got a sad dog, but to have a reason for that is worth exploring, and so people feel able to have those conversations.”
Deschanel echoes this sentiment, adding, “I really love romantic comedies that have an element of some more serious topics that are woven in. Some of my favorite rom-coms have that, and I think it just adds depth that makes you really connect with the film even more.”
Ultimately, Anna and Russ return to Boston from Florida, leading separate lives until they cross paths in the park and decide to rekindle their romance, which leads to a memorable Christmas. But for a holiday film mostly set at the beach, there were certainly some challenges to overcome.
“One thing I remember about that was that we had to shoot [at a] dog beach, like the first two weeks, and it still wasn’t properly summer yet, and so we were freezing on the dog beach, and then we did all the Christmas wintry stuff like mid-July or whatever it was,” Cox says with a laugh.
“[That] really big scene on the beach at night, there were hurricane-force winds. It was the craziest thing,” Deschanel recalls. “My dress kept flying fully up.” Despite the hurdles of a beach-set holiday flick, Deschanel and Cox rose to the occasion for a sweetly charming rom-com that’s sure to satisfy the dog lovers in your life.
See their full interview where they share their favorite swoony moments from holiday flicks, and check out Merv on Prime Video.
Merv, Streaming Now, Prime Video
