been a friend to him, Marilyn reveals her plan: She and Ryan just faked his death, and the body that Patrick has been trying to get rid of has been Marilyn's sex doll all the time. Ryan has assumed the role of his aunt. Some time later, when Patrick grows comfortable with the idea to accept Ryan as his brother-in-law, Ryan's sister Elise (Amanda Byram) arrives but is not enthused with the upcoming wedding. A love at first sight between Patrick and Elise is apparent. While Marilyn shows her sister-in-law to-be the house, Ryan leads Patrick to the lake, with a moose figure behind his back. Cast Production Conception Inspired by other actors pursuing a career in directing, David Hewlett wanted to spend his hiatus from Stargate Atlantis with other projects. He wrote three scripts of the horror and thriller genre before he got the idea for A Dog's Breakfast. He chose a more humorous subject because Stargate Atlantis generally involves peril despite its comedy elements. Hewlett considered the movie as a personal challenge and did not have wide-distribution plans initially. The title of the film is derived from an English slang phrase meaning "a mess or muddle". In an online radio interview, David Hewlett joked that he chose this title so that the movie would have the right title if it didn't work out. He also said that the main character makes a mess out of everything, including murder, so the title was in fact carefully chosen. Although David Hewlett had been rather focused on the actors and the acting before, he started paying more attention to old style comedy film-making such as works of Monty Python and director Blake Edwards. In general, old-fashioned comedies appealed more to him than comedy films of recent history. Hewlett said he copied some old-fashioned techniques into his own project. He specifically mentioned A Fish Called Wanda and Fawlty Towers as major influences. Despite A Dog's Breakfast'''s murder theme, Hewlett wanted to avoid violence and gore as audience attraction, and rather produce a family film for all ages. He thinks that younger members of the audience will enjoy the cartoon-like elements of the movie. Hewlett further mentioned Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd of the silent era of movie-making as major influences, who he says reflect a simpler method of story-telling and comedy. Similarly, he did not want to overdo cutting and manipulation, as