Movies
Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
Wide Releases
Now In Theaters
76
(500) Days of Summer
60
9
17
All About Steve
37
Amelia
53
Astro Boy
66
Bandslam
45
Box, The
61
Capitalism: A Love Story
55
Christmas Carol, A
43
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
66
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
29
Collector, The
23
Couples Retreat
80
District 9
61
Extract
39
Fame
xx
Fantastic Mr. Fox
30
Final Destination, The
34
Fourth Kind, The
60
Funny People
32
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
27
Gamer
41
G-Force
39
Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, The
46
Halloween II
73
Hangover, The
78
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
55
I Can Do Bad All By Myself
66
Informant!, The
69
Inglourious Basterds
58
Invention of Lying, The
47
Jennifer's Body
66
Julie & Julia
34
Law Abiding Citizen
33
Love Happens
54
Men Who Stare At Goats, The
67
Michael Jackson's This Is It
51
My Sister's Keeper
42
Orphan
28
Pandorum
63
Perfect Getaway, A
86
Ponyo![]()
35
Post Grad
48
Proposal, The
30
Saw VI
53
Shorts
24
Sorority Row
83
Star Trek![]()
33
Stepfather, The
45
Surrogates
55
Taking Woodstock
47
Time Traveler's Wife
96
Toy Story/Toy Story 2 3D![]()
35
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
28
Ugly Truth, The
88
Up![]()
71
Where the Wild Things Are
67
Whip It
28
Whiteout
73
Zombieland
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Limited Releases
Now In Theaters
58
(Untitled)
96
35 Shots of Rum![]()
56
Adam
72
Adela
39
Adventures of Power
78
Afghan Star
61
After the Storm
66
Afterschool
xx
All the Best
58
American Casino
72
Amreeka
48
Antichrist
73
Araya
62
Art & Copy
55
As Seen Through These Eyes
76
Baader Meinhof Complex, The
86
Beaches of Agnes, The![]()
13
Beautiful Life, A
70
Beeswax
35
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
71
Big Fan
66
Black Dynamite
51
Blind Date
xx
Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly
76
Bliss
35
Blue Tooth Virgin, The
26
Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, The
57
Boys Are Back, The
45
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
81
Bright Star![]()
70
Bronson
45
Burning Plain, The
xx
Carriers
55
Casi Divas
57
Chelsea on the Rocks
62
Cloud 9
65
Coco Before Chanel
69
Cold Souls
59
Collapse
44
Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha
82
Cove, The![]()
75
Crude
82
Damned United, The![]()
67
Departures
xx
Dil Bole Hadippa
71
Disgrace
xx
Do Knot Disturb
70
Earth Days
24
Eating Out 3: All You Can Eat
85
Education, An![]()
55
Endgame
xx
Eulogy for a Vampire
xx
Everyone Else
xx
Fatal Promises
56
Fifty Dead Men Walking
62
Five Minutes of Heaven
74
Flame & Citron
49
Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution
80
Food, Inc.
28
Free Style
xx
From Mexico with Love
50
Fuel
25
Gentlemen Broncos
50
Give Me Your Hand
58
Gogol Bordello Non-Stop
72
Good Hair
89
Goodbye Solo![]()
52
Grace
66
Harmony and Me
81
Headless Woman, The![]()
xx
Heretics, The
63
Horse Boy, The
73
House of the Devil, The
xx
How to Seduce Difficult Women
74
Humpday
94
Hurt Locker, The![]()
29
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
16
If One Thing Matters: A Film About Wolfgang Tillmans
75
In Search of Beethoven
83
In the Loop![]()
61
Intimate Enemies
42
Irene in Time
70
It Might Get Loud
46
Killing Kasztner
19
Labor Day
xx
Laila's Birthday
41
Little Ashes
41
Little Traitor, The
66
Liverpool
34
Looking for Palladin
80
Lorna's Silence
83
Maid, The![]()
xx
Ministers, The
59
More Than a Game
67
Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, The
34
Motherhood
62
My One and Only
xx
Mystery Team
48
New York, I Love You
73
Night and Day
66
No Impact Man
47
Ong Bak 2: The Beginning
34
Other Man, The
xx
Painter Sam Francis, The
54
Paper Heart
xx
Paradise
68
Paranormal Activity
68
Paris
44
Peter and Vandy
35
Play the Game
77
Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire
xx
Pretty Ugly People
65
Providence Effect, The
76
Rembrandt's J'accuse
69
September Issue, The
79
Serious Man, A
40
Shrink
61
Skin
77
Skin Too Few: The Days of Nick Drake, A
xx
Skiptracers
46
Splinterheads
39
St. Trinian's
89
Still Walking![]()
50
Stoning of Soraya M., The
55
Storm
65
Tetro
70
That Evening Sun
72
Thirst
xx
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas 3D (re-release)
61
Trucker
xx
Turning Green
83
U2 3D![]()
66
Unmade Beds
66
Unmistaken Child
70
Visual Acoustics
55
Walt & El Grupo
67
Way We Get By, The
69
We Live in Public
64
Wedding Song, The
64
Where is Where?
xx
White on Rice
74
Woman in Berlin, A
69
World's Greatest Dad
70
Yes Men Fix the World
69
Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg
xx
You, the Living
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Dish, The

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 27 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 11 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Comedy
Written by:
Santo Cilauro
Tom Gleisner
Jane Kennedy
Rob Sitch
Directed by: Rob Sitch
Release Date:
Theatrical: March 14, 2001
DVD: August 31, 2001
Running Time: 104 minutes, Color
Origin: Australia
Summary
RATING: PG-13 for brief strong language
Starring Sam Neill, Kevin Harrington, Patrick Warburton, Tom Long, Bille Brown, Roy Billing, Tayler Kane, and Genevieve Mooy
Set on a sheep farm in the remote town of Parkes, Australia in 1969, this is the amusing story of a satellite interface that served as a relay between NASA and Apollo 11 during the historic mission to the moon.
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
It's a lovely, original, Australian take on a climactic moment usually thought of as all American.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
It placed second for the People's Choice Award at the 2000 Toronto Film Festival--after "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." That's about right.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
The kind of movie some audiences are starved for, a comedy with a human face, warmth and spirit.
New York Post Lou Lumenick
Cannily weaving cross-cultural comedy with we-can-do-it humor in the spirit of "The Full Monty," the film builds to a rousing climax.
Portland Oregonian Kim Morgan
Appropriate music, lovely cinematography and stellar performances by both a subtly moving Neill and a likable, barrel-chested super-American Warburton.
Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
Apollo 11's mission was a singular chapter in the story of mankind; The Dish finds a whimsical, winning way of telling it anew.
Washington Post Desson Thomson
Takes unabashed delight in itself and its own culture.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Rita Kempley
Simple fare, a feel-good movie that re-creates a time and place with gentle humor and a reminder that the Aussies have the right stuff, too.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
The acting and screenplay are amusing, but director Sitch might have taken a more adventurous approach to a tale with such an adventurous subject.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
Amusing, compelling and technologically fascinating tale.
Boston Globe Jay Carr
Warm, wry, endearing.
Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
It was a time in history eminently worth celebrating on film.
Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
Sitch keeps the tone consistently light, scoring big laughs all the way to the film's climax.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Bob Graham
A quirky character study of the four-man team, led by Sam Neill as the crew leader who seems surrounded by an aura of sadness but is so dedicated that he's not above lying to Houston to buy time when something goes wrong.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer Paula Nechak
Works well as a metaphor for a more innocent time.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jami Bernard
For all its folksy jocularity, the movie inspires a sense of global patriotism. In the big picture, every little dish counts.
Read Full Review >USA Today Susan Wloszczyna
Dramatically moving and good-naturedly humorous, it transmits a sharp picture of humanity that inspires both awe and laughter.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly F. X. Feeney
Surprisingly moving -- prompting lumps in the throat over what was, after all, a historic moment of the most luminous hope.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Ken Fox
The cast is wonderful, the soundtrack features a well-chosen array of bouncy period pop tunes, and Graeme Wood's cinematography makes the most of the stately beauty of the dish itself.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
It unfolds in a hearty, good-natured Australian comedy that affectionately depicts how the citizens of a small town become connected to the Apollo moon flight.
Read Full Review >Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard
A disarming helping of Capra-esque corn served up by writer-director Rob Sitch.
The New York Times Stephen Holden
Maintains a tone that remains as light and easygoing as the Australians living in the area.
Read Full Review >Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
If you like films short, sweet and soothing, this may be exactly your "Dish."
Read Full Review >Film.com Robert Horton
If it weren't so pushy about selling itself, The Dish might have been a very special movie.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Michael Atkinson
Harmless and affectionate, The Dish gives its clichés breathing room, and so a few are pleasantly surprising.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.1 (out of 10) based on 11 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Jay H gave it a7:
Sweet Australian film The cast is wonderful and give very real and natural performances. The characters are very well defined. Great cinematography, well written and directed. It's a fine, solid film.
Helen W. gave it a10:
One of my favorite movies. Anyone alive at the time the movie takes place is going to appreciate it. Very nostalgic, accented with popular music of the time, as well as a very nice score. I've seen it many times, and it still brings tears to my eyes. It is very sweet, funny and moving. One of the few moments in history you when you could believe we have the capacity to get it right, and you are glad to relive it again and again.
Boen i Egget gave it a 4:
Kind of boring.
David F. gave it a 9:
I think this is a great movie this and the castle r the best australian movies ever made i dont care what ne1 says.
Sam W. gave it a 10:
Marvellous, moving, funny.
Mikey gave it an 8:
I really enjoyed this movie. This is the type of intelligent, humorous, adult quality film that the whole family can enjoy. Take your parents and your grandparents to see it!
Catriona C. gave it a 10:
Very funny and whimsical.
