SUBMITTED BY Fred Hill

March 2, 2001 —

Here is a review by Bob Irwin from Dead End Cinema:

People have been giving rave reviews to The Dish. I can see why, it's a very well made movie, has a cast of great actors, a very interesting story and above all doesn't attempt to be anything more than a ripping good yarn. As much as I've come to despise Working Dog, I can't help but wonder at another of their magnificent movies. Their series The Panel was very good for the first year, but after that they seemed to take themselves too seriously, making political statements and such. They lost the raw humour that had made them fun to watch. Not to mention they have some very unfunny panellists on sometimes.

Lets be thankful that they still make great movies!

Now I bet you remember working Dog's first film, The Castle. Top flick! Expect similar characters, yet a dryer sense of humour. Working Dog has tried their hardest to recreated the late 60's. Not being alive then, I can only guess that they've done a reasonable job. Remember that big hoohaa about some yank fellas landing on the moon? Well - Australia played a big part in making that happen. And guess what - we're bloody proud of it mate! Just ask us! We'll tell you!

The heroes of this movie are 4 lads manning the Parkes Radio telescope. They are relaying signals from the Apollo 11 Lunar module for NASA. The team is made up of Cliff (Sam Neil - the big Kahuna of operations), Ross (Kevin Harrington - chief dish moving guy), Al (Patrick Warburton - the American NASA consultant) and Glenn (Tom Long - a shy Electronics Engineer). The 3 Aussies have obviously known each other for yonks, and are a little put off with the nervous American watching their every move. But they eventually get over it and he turns out to be a top bloke. Even if he does look like Buddy Holly's ghost.

There's also a cast of great supporting characters. The Mayor Bob McIntyre of Parkes (Roy Billing) and his family in particular are hugely funny and warm. His daughter is going through her university years where she's against everything that seems fascist (ie, NASA, the government). At the same time, she's got the next door neighbour (who's training himself up for the army) chasing her around. Bob refers to him as a kamakazi for doing so. His wife always finishes his stories as he's just getting to the punch line and his son is dead set space nuts. But you know what? He's bloody happy to be there. Nothing can faze him, she'll be right is his attitude. Very Australian if you ask me! Mayor Bob is definitely the star of this movie.

As the big days draws near, Working Dog use a lot of archived footage to help tell their story. The direction, art, costumes etc, do a wonderful job of bringing us back to the 60's. Although, one could argue that for some country towns, that's not winding the clock back very far.

I wouldn't complain about that - I'd like to be able to leave my car unlocked for a few minutes, go to sleep feeling safe, or sit in the median strip naked playing checkers with Andrew Gaze. Er... Lets go back to the good old days!

It's not a tough job watching The Dish. The story floats along at a typical Australian drawl and much of the expression; the big ideas and the feelings of the characters are brought to life without tedious dialogue or scenes. The Dish lets you assume a lot. What you read into some scenes is the best part really.

It's also not tough in giving this flick the thumbs up. An enjoyable film that's suitable for families doesn't have endless violence (although I like that!) nor relies on smut. Seems like a strange way to make films, doesn't it? Works for me! And for once, Sam Neil keeps his clothes on!