The Dish (PG-13, 2001)

In order to broadcast images of the historic first moon landing back to the 300 million people who would be watching, NASA needed access to the world's biggest satellite dish, which happened to be in the middle of a sheep paddock in remote Parkes, Australia. Thus begins this story, as NASA scientist Al Burnett (Patrick Warburton) is sent to Parkes to handle the broadcast. At first, Burnett and the three on-site engineers are suspicious of each other. Benign leader Cliff Buxton (Sam Neill), temperamental "Mitch" Mitchell (Kevin Harrington) and shy Glenn Latham (Tom Long) are thrilled about being a part of the incredible adventure of a trip to the moon. But they are also shaken by the responsibility. The town of Parkes is also a little overwhelmed by the visibility. All of a sudden, a town no one ever paid any attention to is being visited by dignitaries and the press, and that creates opportunities for all kinds of upheaval. But the real problem arises when Parkes, selected as the site for the dish because of its stable weather conditions, is subjected to high winds just at the time its position needs to be most precisely calibrated.

This delightful "dish" is delicious. The movie features dozens of sharply but observed moments and delightfully quirky characters, including a dim security guard, a military-obsessed teenager with a crush on the mayor's daughter, and the engineers themselves.

Warburton is sheer pleasure to watch as the straight-laced NASA representative. Tom Long is marvelous as an engineer who can catch the errors in the NASA specifications but who can never quite get up the nerve to ask out the girl who delivers the sandwiches. Sam Neill gives a warm portrayal of a man who had to be reminded to be excited about the trip to the moon, but who understood that all they needed in the contract with NASA was "we agree to support the Apollo 11 mission."

Studio: Warner Bros.
Director: Rob Sitch
Cast: Patrick Warburton, Sam Neill, Tom Long
Genre: Drama
Run time: 101 minutes
Theatrical release: March 14, 2001
DVD release: August 31, 2001
MPAA Rating: PG-13
MPAA explanation: brief strong language