Dish Dogs Reviews

Devoted to the quest for knowledge, college grads Morgan (Sean Astin) and Jason (Matthew Lillard) see themselves as philosophers for the new millennium. In pursuit of an epiphany that will net them a spot on the pantheon of adventurous thinkers, they eschew 9-to-5 jobs in favor of the lowly occupation of washing dishes. Earning just enough to cover their expenses, Morgan and Jason are free to travel, contemplate the universe, and surf. However, when a buddy marries, Jason reconsiders his gameplan. Reunited with his former flame Molly (Maitland Ward) at the wedding reception, Jason wonders how much longer he can drift through life with Morgan. Estranged from his boon companion, Morgan doesn't find the same joy in survival jobs and leisure time. After meeting an intelligent exotic dancer, Morgan experiences his own romantic stirrings. Will love spell the end of his pursuit of philosophic inquiry? In essence, this is just a buddy-buddy movie with a lower testosterone level than usual — and greater pretentions. On and on, the protagonists jabber, referencing renowned thinkers as if screenwriters Ashley Scott Meyers and Nathan Ives had just completed Philosophy 101 and wanted to show off. Alternately self-important and sex-obsessed, the film feels like a keg party inhabited by college kids trying to impress chicks by quoting Nietszche. In the end, the two free spirits discover that the meaning of life is LOVE, a kernel of wisdom one can glean just as readily from a Harlequin Romance as from Heidegger.