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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 MatzdorffWriter:Michael Matzdorff |
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Title: Feed the Fish (2009)
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Cast
| Credited cast: | |||
| Tony Shalhoub | ... |
Sheriff Andersen
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| Barry Corbin | ... |
Axel Andersen
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| Katie Aselton | ... |
Sif Andersen
(as Kathryn Aselton)
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| Vanessa Branch | ... |
Lorraine
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| Patrick Cavanaugh | ... |
Hamish the Paramedic
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Michael Shalhoub | ... |
Dr. Koosa
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Susan Shalhoub Larkin | ... |
Nurse H. Josephs
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| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Ryan Bailey | ... |
Ringo the Paramedic
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Matt Braaten | ... |
Dr. Ronnie Schweiber
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| Michael Chernus | ... |
JP
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David Colton | ... |
Himself - Background
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Anthony Evangelista | ... |
Bartender
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| Dawn Heusser | ... |
Dr. Fishburn
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Carlos Kotkin | ... |
Jeffy
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| Jennifer Lafleur | ... |
Gwen
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Plot Summary
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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. Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>
Genres:
ComedyParents Guide:
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
25 January 2011 (USA) See more »Box Office
Budget:
$240,000 (estimated)Opening Weekend:
$2,463 (USA) (31 December 2010)Gross:
$101,160 (USA) (11 February 2011)Company Credits
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Technical Specs
Runtime:
Color:
Color
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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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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. See more »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: ...
[...]
See more »
"Feed the Fish" is one of those quirky, dark comedies set in the dead of winter in the dead of Wisconsin. That's what I thought it was, and I was mostly right. "Dark" is the part that I was wrong about. But forgive me because it started in Venice, California with our hero Joe (Ross Partridge) talking about his successful children's book "Mr. Kitty Feeds the Fish" which was a hit because kids love violence!
The irreverent humour at the beginning — like how there will likely be a lawsuit if his second book has kids stuck under the ice, or when his best friend was flushed down a toilet — eroded into a predictable romantic comedy. I do love the fusion of different genres and I even like romantic comedies, but the beginning was better than what it became.
Suffering from writer's block, Joe is off to Ellison Bay, Wisconsin with a friend. JP is there for the Polar Bear Plunge, Joe is there for rejuvenation. But upon arrival, Joe meets a girl, and JP meets with a joke that doesn't work, a badger attacked his groin area. There were a whole series of re-attaching testicle jokes—none of them work.
The girl is beautiful, single, smart, strong and independent. Of course she is, she's the main squeeze, supporting character, did you expect her to be anything less than perfect? But her father is a gun-toting, unpleasant sheriff (Tony Shalhoub) and Joe has to prove that he's worthy of his daughter's affections.
"Feed the Fish" would have been funnier, more original, and authentic if they stayed with the dark comedy beginning. For every witty joke, there would be two disctinctly unfunny jokes (usually about testicles and/or a badger), which is too bad because this is a better movie than that.