A sweet and vivaciously funny Aussie comedy, The Dish is about how a real-life hamlet was put on the map in 1969 when the giant satellite dish just outside of town became the Southern Hemisphere's relay station for the Apollo 11 moon landing. Incidental wit and eccentric townspeople provide some of the laughs, but the story focuses on the dish scientists--quietly reflective leader Sam Neill, smart-aleck technician Kevin Harrington and nervous nerd mathematician Tom Long--and the micromanaging NASA wonk (Patrick Warburton) nervously looking over their shoulders 24 hours a day. The filmmaking is pretty elementary, but director Rob Sitch (The Castle) finds humor everywhere and does an incredibly vicarious job of bringing the excitement of the moon landing to life from the civilian point of view. A guaranteed good time. Recommended. (R. Blackwelder)
The Dish
Warner, 101 min., PG-13, VHS: $68, DVD: $19.98, Aug. 31 September 10, 2001
The Dish
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