Pickleball may be a sensation, but it’s missing one element to make it an American institution.
The goofy sports comedy treatment.
Enter “The Dink,” a good-hearted romp that’s neither outrageous (“Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story”) nor subversive (“Caddyshack”).
No matter. The film’s dueling stars are more than enough to make this Apple TV original a low-key winner. You might even learn some dorky jokes for when your opponent stumbles into “The Kitchen.”
Jake Johnson stars as Dusty Boyd, a former tennis prodigy who saw his career collapse after a hand injury. Now, he works at a tennis club run by his hard-charging pappy (Ed Harris, playing it perfectly mean and straight).
Dusty lacks a sense of purpose, but when his father snubs him for an important match that could impact the club’s future, he finds it.
(By the way, the basic plot/narrative is one of the film’s weakest elements)
Dusty decides to try Pickleball, despite sensing the sport is everything a real athlete should avoid. That introduces him to Candace (Mary Steenburgen), a casual player who thinks Dusty would make a killer pickleball pal.
One impromptu viewing of “The Graduate,” and suddenly Dusty sees her as more than just a sweet-natured partner.
Koo-koo-ca-choo, Mrs. Robinson.
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“The Dink” handles the May-December elements better than most comedies might. It helps that the two stars have real chemistry, and Steenburgen’s on-screen appeal ignores Father Time.
There’s more here, of course, and you can sense (mostly) where the main story is heading. The laughs aren’t big or bold, but “The Dink” is that rare comedy that gets funnier in the third act.
Blame John McEnroe. The tennis great plays himself as a droll observer of the Big Game. Oh, did you think a sports movie ends in any other way?
Even McEnroe’s throwaway sight gag (no spoilers here) offers real laughs. Another good sport? Fellow tennis great Andy Roddick as the film’s unlikely villain.
“The Dink” feels torn between wacky and heartfelt, and sometimes the two don’t work well together. It’s a better movie when leaning into the latter and letting the story’s supporting players run the table.
Consider Aaron Chen’s quietly funny sidekick character, someone who believes all the legend talk Dusty spills.
“The Dink” wants to be the Official Comedy of the Pickleball community. Only time will tell if that’s the case. For now, a streaming original that doesn’t make audiences cringe and would fit snugly into a real movie theater is worth a minor celebration.
HiT or Miss: “The Dink” might tackle the no-so-wild world of Pickleball, but it works best as a sweet semi-rom-com with bite.
The post ‘The Dink’ – Pickleball Finally Gets Its Own Sports Comedy appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.
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