The Dink

Rated PG-13 • Streaming

Washed-up former tennis pro Dusty “The Hammer” Boyd (Jake Johnson) still can’t get over the game that wrecked his career. Dusty didn’t turn out to be the tennis legend his father Chuck (Ed Harris) had desperately hoped for. But still wearing a sweatband and colorful sweatsuits, Dusty now coaches at his father’s tennis club, regaling his sycophantic sidekick PJ (Aaron Chen) with tales of his glory days. 

A crisis at the tennis club just might be Dusty’s last shot at winning his father’s approval. The problem? Pickleball, that “coronavirus of sports,” according to Chuck. It’s not just a fad anymore, and the pickleballers want more courts at the tennis club. 

To avoid giving more space to pickleball, Chuck defers to an old charter rule that may or may not have been used to keep the club segregated back in the day. So Chuck organizes a tennis match between the tennis players and the pickleballers. If the tennis team loses, the club must devote more courts to pickleball and vice versa. Dusty puts himself forward to represent team tennis but injures his wrist in a qualifying match. The recommended prescription from his doctor? Pickleball. 

Despite his initial reservations about the game, Dusty secretly falls in love with pickleball, thanks to the help of his new teammate Candace (Mary Steenburgen). When it’s time for the big tennis v. pickleball showdown, can Dusty pursue his newfound passion and make his dad proud? 

The movie is a complete satire, so turning the growing popularity of pickleball into an existential threat really works. Viewers will get a kick out of the unathletic pickleballers with their floral skorts and geriatric shoes. And Jake Johnson is hilarious as a former pro who can’t get over his highlights. 

But, several moments came across as more cringey than funny. Desperate to be loved, Dusty develops feelings for Candace—never mind that she’s 30 years older. The age gap crush feels weird and probably wasn’t necessary to the plot, but Candace quickly shoots down Dusty’s advances. Producer Ben Stiller’s cameo as a doctor with perverted quirks also seemed like a missed opportunity. Moments of suggestive language and inappropriate gestures seem to push the boundaries of the PG-13 rating. But in all fairness, for a modern comedy, the movie isn’t as obscene as it could be.