The Dish (2000)

3 out of 4

Starring: Sam Neill, Patrick Warbuton, Kevin Harrington, Tom Long, Roy Billing, Taylor Kane, Genevieve Mooy

Director: Rob Sitch

Time: 101 mins

Working Dog Productions has certainly carved a niche for themselves in the Australian comedy landscape. From their beginnings as part of the university troupe The Degeneration and the sketch classic The Late Show, to their later series, such as the blistering current affairs satire Frontline and the weekly news discussion show The Panel, their comedy is distinctly Australian yet universally funny. Recently they ventured into film, with the sweet and well-received The Castle, about a small-time family battling big government forces. Their latest, The Dish, about Australia's involvement in beaming TV pictures of the first moon landing around the world, has similar themes. There is a small time establishment (the Parkes radio antenna) being asked to cope with big world problems, populated by the usual coterie of simple, down-to-earth Australians. This time, though, there are a couple of American characters (one from NASA, the other the US Ambassador) thrown in, providing fodder for some very funny clashes of culture (and, incidentally, perhaps making the film more accessible to Americans than The Castle).

The story is set in 1969. Man is about to fly to the moon, and the country town of Parkes is elated when it has been asked to participate in tracking the Apollo 11 mission and beaming pictures during the landing. Why Parkes? Because it has the largest radio antenna (nicknamed The Dish) in the southern hemisphere. Manned by Cliff Buxton (Sam Neill), Ross "Mitch" Mitchell (Kevin Harrington) and Glenn Latham (Tom Long), plus NASA representative Al Burnett (Patrick Warburton), the team have to cope with problems like electrical blackouts and high winds before Neil Armstrong takes that historic lunar step. Meanwhile, the mayor of Parkes, Bob McIntyre (Roy Billing), and his wife, May (Genevieve Mooy), are busy preparing for the arrival of dignitaries like the US Ambassador and the Australian Prime Minister. Will the Australians be successful in this global event, or will they look like fools?

While the humour is toned down from the usual Working Dog work, it is still very funny. Most of it comes from the clashes in culture between the Australians and the Americans, and the depiction of some quirky characters. Where it works better than other recent Australian comedies such as Muriel's Wedding and Strictly Ballroom is that these characters are not as weird or as wildly over-the-top as the characters in those films. The Parkes people may be simple folk, but they still have the same worldly worries, such as plucking up the courage to ask a girl for a date. The film does well in introducing the multitude of characters quickly and efficiently, so much so that each has a distinct personality. It is also one of the very few films in recent memory where there's no "villain" to speak of, giving rise to the description of The Dish as "nice" or "warm". The humour slows down during the final half hour, but by then the audience has probably been won over by the characters and the film's charm.

Though most of the cast is not well-known, they do an excellent job in portraying their characters. The one exception in terms of fame, Neill (Jurassic Park), is very good as the wise, gentle man in charge of The Dish, leading calmly from the front. His colleagues (Harrington and Long) also succeed in conveying genuine Australian characters, while Warburton, as the American, exudes a lot of warmth. Roy Billing is infectious as the excited mayor, and Taylor Kane a scene-stealer as the security guard who takes his job a bit too seriously. Director Rob Sitch may not be a hot-shot Hollywood director (or, at least, not yet :-)), but his guiding hand and comic timing is assured. There aren't any flashy camera angles or anything like that, but then again, there's no need.

It's rare than an Australian comedy comes along without resorting to portraying its Australian characters as wild, rough, or over-the-top weird types. That The Dish succeeds is due to a fine script and a very good cast. It may not be the most consistently funny film in the world, but it has its share of big laughs and, maybe even better, it'll leave you with a "nice" feeling.

(c) Joe Wong (30 October 2000)