Dish Dogs

I'm a fan of Sean Astin's, which was a major reason why I saw this movie. I agree with many of the comments - the movie seemed unbalanced -some scenes were good, some were quite bad, and one was boring (some scenes of Sean Astin's character and his friend, Jason, working, which did not add much to the movie. I thought it had the potential to be a much better movie. The movie seems like it is searching for a plot, but does not quite get there. I liked the bits of philosophy, although they seemed kind of out of place at some times (it was overused in the dialogue at some points) I liked some of the quotes in the movie, and the theme of experiencing something rather than just thinking about it. The scene on the beach with Morgan and his teacher encapsulated this theme of the movie, and which I thought was the best scene in the movie.

What disappointed me is the story had potential. There were some likable characters, and there were some humorous lines and moments in the movie.

I am so used to seeing Sean Astin play nice guys that the Morgan character was a bit jarring. He is so insensitive to his friend Jason, especially at a scene near the end. Jason is clearly the more mature of the two.

Matthew Lillard's character is the most likable and believable character in the movie. He is good - natured and an easygoing guy. In contrast, Sean Astin's character Morgan does show potential of being a nice guy, but he's a very cynical guy who distances himself from women, and doesn't believe in marriage. (a good portion of the movie seems anti - marriage, despite the two marriages in the movie) Some characters (like Mr. Dewitt, Anne's boss) seemed stereotypical and therefore not completely believable.

Since Sean Astin and Shannon Elizabeth's character really didn't have enough screen time, there wasn't enough time to develop chemistry. Plus, her character completely disappears for awhile - she is neither seen nor mentioned. The relationship didn't develop enough to be completely believable.

I thought Sean Astin did a great job as usual. I wish he was given more to work with.

I chose this movie by the cover which was a bad move. It wasn't funny at all and the main characters were obnoxious. The girl was beautiful but the story and the acting were terrible. It had absolutely nothing to do with surfing. It had a few scenes with no waves- oh it did have the 2 main characters who obviously can't surf try to take off on a closeout. Then it showed Brian Dennehy who I liked in Cocoon but I lost all respect for him in this movie. It was obvious no one in the movie surfs, which is a good thing because they act like losers anyway. I'm amazed they wasted time and money producing this film. I'm even more amazed people bought it.

Morgan(Sean Astin)and Jason(Matt Lillard)star as 'Dish Dogs', two buddy philosophers who travel the world, free of commitment, taking up dishwashing jobs at various restaurants across the country. Morgan is the the talkative one. Blah-blah-blah, immovable rocks and omnipotent gods. And Jason is the free-spirited sidekick who is basically just "going along" with Morgan's philosophical lifestyle. So, when they return home for a friend's wedding, Jason rekindles his relationship with an old flame Molly(Ward)and Morgan is left to do some soul searching. And, believe it or not, he ends up falling for ball-busting stripper Anne(Shannon Elizabeth), much to his own dismay. These two film stars are kind of an odd couple...

Anyway, 'Dish Dogs' is pretty amusing, and the script very rarely takes itself seriously. I do think that Sean Astin kind of talks too much, though. This may turn the viewer off, but I would recommend sticking with it. The second half of the film is much better than the first half because Morgan has to confront reality and stop asking those unanswerable questions about love and marriage. The ending is pretty cool, too, I guess.

5/10 is my vote. It has its good points.

I'll give the other comment-giver a little bit of credit... but I found this movie to be insanely cute and very cool. I found it out only because I was a huge fan of Sean Astin in LOTR, but as I watched it and pulled more away from just loving to see Sean, I found it really groovy stuff!! Writers and directors use the same story lines and plots all the time! This thing was totally different and maybe not as realistic as we'd like it to be, but it IS still realistic. Hell, I'd be a dish dog if I had Matt Lillard and Sean Astin by my side... AND a hot stripper. It may not have been as good as I had hoped... but I do give it something for the originality and getting me to REALLY eat at a chip, lol.

Overall I have to give this movie a good rating. I started watching while flipping channels and Shannon Elizabeth caught my eye. The movie itself is about Morgan (Sean Astin) trying to define himself as a philosopher. To do this Morgan and his best friend Jason (Matthew Lillard) travel the country washing dishes and exchanging philosophical ideas. Jason eventually falls in love with a girl who he then wants to stay with and stop travelling around. Morgan finds this to go against his beliefs and tries to leave but also ends up falling in love with different girl played by Shannon Elizabeth. The rest of the movie is basically Morgan trying to convince himself that this girl will not corrupt his beliefs. Not for people who don't want to think about a movie but also a good movie for a couple to watch. Enjoy