Feed the Fish (2009)

Follows the journey of Joe Peterson, a burned out children's book writer who's approaching a midlife crisis.

Director:

Michael Matzdorff

Writer:

Michael Matzdorff

Stars:

Tony Shalhoub, Barry Corbin, Katie Aselton

Cast

Credited cast:
Tony Shalhoub	...	Sheriff Andersen
Barry Corbin	...	Axel Andersen
Katie Aselton	...	Sif Andersen (as Kathryn Aselton)
Vanessa Branch	...	Lorraine
Patrick Cavanaugh	...	Hamish the Paramedic
Michael Shalhoub	...	Dr. Koosa
Susan Shalhoub Larkin	...	Nurse H. Josephs
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ryan Bailey	...	Ringo the Paramedic
Matt Braaten	...	Dr. Ronnie Schweiber
Michael Chernus	...	JP
David Colton	...	Himself - Background
Anthony Evangelista	...	Bartender
Dawn Heusser	...	Dr. Fishburn
Carlos Kotkin	...	Jeffy
Jennifer Lafleur	...	Gwen

Storyline

Joe is a children's book writer and illustrator in L.A. in the second year of major writer's block. His girlfriend, impatient with his lack of progress, gets bitchy, so he breaks off the relationship and agrees to accompany her brother to a small town in Wisconsin where stalwarts jump in Lake Michigan on Christmas morning. The house where they stay is isolated, and when Joe's pal is hospitalized with a badger bite, Joe is on his own. He befriends a local hermit, is attracted to the man's granddaughter, and must deal with the local sheriff's dislike of anyone from out of town. Plus, the sheriff is the young woman's dad - with a gun. Christmas approaches and things get complicated.

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Plot Keywords:

christmas | hermit | wisconsin | lake michigan | badger | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 January 2011 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Ellison Bay, Wisconsin, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$240,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$2,463 (USA) (31 December 2010)

Gross:

$101,160 (USA) (11 February 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Triplefinger

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Joe and Sif get out of the pick-up truck at the drive-in theater, theirs is the only set of tire tracks in the snow but the truck is surrounded by footprints.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Aaron Aaronson: We've here today with local Venice Beach children's author, Joe Peterson, who has exploded onto the scene with what is going to be a series of nine tough-love kids books. Hello Joe...
Joe Peterson: Hey, how are you.
Aaron Aaronson: Look at these kids. This is incredible. So what can you tell us about this tough-love aspect. It reminds me of the books that I read when I was a kid. No Coddling. This is not a warm and fuzzy book. It's not every day that you have a warm cuddly kitten devoured by a vicious piranha.
Joe Peterson: ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Playback (2012)

User Reviews

Fun romantic comedy!

I just saw this last night, and I was delighted by the clever writing and the honest performances. Some situations stretch reality a bit, as any good comedy/farce does, but the writing always stays grounded in reality.

Barry Corbin turns in a layered and wonderful performance as a family patriarch, Tony Shalhoub is wonderful as usual, and the rest of the cast is fun, believable and interesting.

Although obviously shot on a limited budget, the director uses local scenery and architecture to paint a rich background to the plot.

I'd like to see more from director Michael Matzdorff, and from the entire cast!