Dish Dogs is a film that hugely benefits from the chemistry of its excellent cast: Sean Astin makes a memorable wannabe-philosopher who is lovable for his hardline commitment to his ideals. Mathew Lillard has great energy and is especially fun to watch alongside Astin, with whom he shares fraternal chemistry. Shannon Elizabeth is charming and funny, and Brian Dennehy brings a certain soothing quality to his scenes, though still humorous.
A highlight of Dish Dogs is the 'philosophy' behind washing dishes as expressed by Morgan (Sean Astin) over a number of scenes: anyone who has undergone the rite of passage that is washing dishes for a restaurant will get a kick out of this. There's a sequence later in the film in which Astin & Lillard must effectively work as slaves to pay off a mechanic, which further cements Dish Dogs as a sort of loveletter to the unskilled labour most young people perform to earn money. This is where the script shines: how often do we see a coming of age story celebrating the monotonous work we all had to do, let alone philosophizing about it and presenting dishwashing in such a unique, exciting, and memorable way?
A highlight of Dish Dogs is the 'philosophy' behind washing dishes as expressed by Morgan (Sean Astin) over a number of scenes: anyone who has undergone the rite of passage that is washing dishes for a restaurant will get a kick out of this. There's a sequence later in the film in which Astin & Lillard must effectively work as slaves to pay off a mechanic, which further cements Dish Dogs as a sort of loveletter to the unskilled labour most young people perform to earn money. This is where the script shines: how often do we see a coming of age story celebrating the monotonous work we all had to do, let alone philosophizing about it and presenting dishwashing in such a unique, exciting, and memorable way?