ROLL M: The Dish |
The Dish (starring Sam Neill, Kevin Harrington, Tom Long, Patrick Warburton; written by Rob Sitch, Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Jane Kennedy; directed by Rob Sitch; rated PG-13)
One of last October’s biggest hits in Australia, The Dish has finally reached American shores with hardly a whisper of publicity. Based on a true story, the movie stars Sam Neill as the leader of a team of Australian scientists during the time of the first Lunar landing in 1969. The “down under” group is in charge of a rural tracking station with its satellite dish in the middle of a sheep “paddock” near the New South Wales town of Parkes. Thanks to their efforts, the first pictures from the moon are relayed to a breathlessly waiting Earth.
But first, of course, things go wrong and the station goes down at a nearly critical moment. Fortunately, the problem is corrected in time. Unfortunately for us, this is basically the only problem that has to be resolved in the film. No doubt this was a proud moment for the Aussies, but although the story is told with some humor and warmth, it’s really not very dramatic.
Australian-born Sam Neill is well known to American audiences for his roles in Jurassic Park and TV’s “Merlin.” Here however, with his ever-present cardigan and pipe, he should be marketed and sold on the shelf next to the Sominex. Neill is at his warm and fuzzy best, but his understated performance is typical of the film itself. Nothing much happens. We meet a lot of characters, many of whom are a bit quirky or humorous. But most are not memorable. One not-very-funny bit, for instance, involves a post-pubescent scientist trying to ask a young lady for a date. Yawn.
There is nothing really offensive in this film, nothing not to like, and some may even find the ending uplifting (after all, there’s that historical footage of Neil Armstrong’s “one small step”). But it probably plays better in Australia, where this tale by now is legendary.
TWO OWLS (out of five)