''A Dog Year'' is a 2009 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

comedy-drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

written and directed by first-time director

George LaVoo George LaVoo is a US film director, producer, and screenwriter. ''Real Women Have Curves'', for which he was both producer and screenwriter, won the 2002 Sundance Film Festival Dramatic Audience Award. In 2006, he wrote ''Blood Monkey'', and hi ...

and starring

Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bridges comes from a prominent a ...

. It was originally broadcast on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

on September 3, 2009. The film is based on the memoir by

Jon Katz Jon Katz (born August 8, 1947) is an American journalist, author, and photographer. He was a contributor to the online magazine ''HotWired'', the technology website ''Slashdot'', and the online news magazine ''Slate''. In his early career as an au ...

and adapted by LaVoo. The story centers on a man experiencing a

midlife crisis A midlife crisis is a transition of identity and self-confidence that can occur in middle age, middle-aged individuals, typically 40 to 60 years old. The phenomenon is described as a psychological crisis brought about by events that highlight a pe ...

whose world is turned upside down when he adopts a

border collie The Border Collie is a Scottish breed of herding dog of medium size. Widely considered to be the most intelligent dog breed, they are descended from landrace sheepdogs once found all over the British Isles, but became standardised in the Angl ...

crazier than he is.

Plot

Jon Katz faces a

. His wife moves out because he was growing too distant, their daughter Emma has moved to a place of her own, and he is left in the house with their two labrador retrievers and a severe case of writer's block. A dog breeder who has read his books convinces him to take in an abused and hyperactive

named Devon – and his crazy new life begins.

Cast

as Jonathan "Jon" Katz *

Lauren Ambrose Lauren Anne D'Ambruoso (born February 20, 1978), known professionally as Lauren Ambrose, is an American actress and singer. She performs in television, film, and on Broadway. Ambrose had television roles as Claire Fisher in ''Six Feet Under'' ( ...

as Emma *

Lois Smith Lois Arlene Smith (née Humbert; born November 3, 1930) is an American character actress whose career spans eight decades. She made her film debut in the 1955 drama film '' East of Eden'', and later played supporting roles in a number of movies ...

as Lois Blair *

Domhnall Gleeson Domhnall Gleeson (; born 12 May 1983) is an Irish actor and screenwriter. He is the son of actor Brendan Gleeson, with whom he has appeared in a number of films and theatre projects. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Media Arts from Dublin Inst ...

as Anthony Armstrong * Welker White as Brenda King *

Elizabeth Marvel Elizabeth Marvel (born November 27, 1969) is an American actress. Her most prominent roles include Det. Nancy Parras on ''The District'', Solicitor General of the United States, Solicitor General Heather Dunbar on ''House of Cards (American TV se ...

as Margo *Pamela Holden Stewart as Patti *

Deirdre O'Connell Eleanore Deirdre O'Connell (16 June 1939 – 9 June 2001) was an Irish American actress, singer, and theatre director who founded the Focus Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Biography O'Connell was born in the South Bronx district of New York City, o ...

as Donna Brady

Nominations

On Thursday, July 8, 2010, Jeff Bridges was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie.

References

External links

*
Tribeca Film Festival
2009 films 2009 television films Films about dogs Films about pets 2009 comedy-drama films American comedy-drama films HBO Films films Midlife crisis films 2009 directorial debut films American drama television films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films {{US-tv-drama-film-stub