The Dink

There has been a bit of a resurgence in sporting comedy entertainment as of recent, with Netflix and Apple TV tussling to lead this initiative. Happy Gilmore 2 and Stick debuted in 2025, and this summer has been followed by The Hawk and now The Dink, with the two rival platforms trading blows by offering films and TV series at an alternative rate. However, unlike the former three, The Dink is not tapping into the world of golf as rather what we have here is an exploration into the merging realms of tennis and pickleball.

Long story short, the film is a character development tale following an ex-tennis pro who develops an adoration for a sport he previously regarded as inferior and a gimmick. After picking up a wrist injury, Jake Johnson's Dustin "The Hammer" Boyd turns to the enemy, pickleball, to rehabilitate his body and get back into fighting shape so he can defend the name of tennis in a rather insignificant and silly competition where very little is on the line, and yet everything is also on the line...

In a traditional vein to most sports comedy projects, The Dink doesn't take itself too seriously. There are times where the comedy feels over-exaggerated and as though it's trying too hard, but there is also plenty of authentic and honest emotion that keeps this film feeling pure and passionate, mostly relating to the connection of Johnson's lead and Mary Steenburgen's pickleballing partner, Candace. These two are an unlikely pair, but they work well together, even if the relationship goes through odd ebbs and flows where as a viewer it can feel a bit uncomfortable at times but also very admirable at others. There's a balance to the relationship The Dink offers, and it often dances the boundaries of this being effective and this feeling misused. As it is, it's just on the side of the former.

Otherwise, Johnson plays the part of a middle-aged buffoon as wonderfully as he has several times prior. Be it New Girl, Self Reliance, even his Peter Parker in the Spider-Verse movies, this is a role Johnson knows how to play and he does so in The Dink to great effect. He's not quite a complete screw-up, but the lack of ambition, the constant living in the past, the waging war on those who have wronged him, it all paints the picture of a man neutered by his former failures, and ultimately it gives the character of Dusty good depth and serves as a platform to make him feel relatable too. And the style of comedy built around Dusty and the film as a whole also works well enough, often trending towards physical humour, witty insults, and dead-pan satire, even if there are few occasions where you will be laughing out loud. It's simply not that kind of film.

The rest of the cast also leave a middling impression, with Ed Harris doing his best to thrive as the tough-loving, often disappointed father of Dusty and the manager of the country club the entire film is based around. But beyond Harris' stoic efforts, few of the rest of the cast make much of an impression, with John McEnroe's inevitable cameo being more effective and memorable than the roles played by Chloe Fineman, Patton Oswalt, Chris Parnell, Aaron Chen, even Ben Stiller in large part. But again, this film revolves around Dusty and Candace largely, so it's not a huge surprise this is the case, even if I do wish the other supporting characters could have played a more interesting part in the narrative.

While it isn't perfect, The Dink is also a film that doesn't overstay its welcome and generally leads to an entertaining 100 or so minutes. In many ways, it reflects the latest sports comedy projects in that it doesn't attempt to push the envelope or innovate on a space in need of innovation. It is a product of the genre it exists within, which is why The Dink will likely fade a tad into the annals of history, even if viewers who decide to check out the film will enjoy their time enough with it to want to see the credits roll.

Ultimately, The Dink is a perfectly watchable and entertaining sports comedy film, but like many of Apple TV's film outings, it doesn't leave much of an impression and fails to live up to the standards of the otherwise excellent television projects the streamer offers.