“The Dink” follows washed-up former tennis prodigy Dusty Boyd, whose vendetta turns into enjoyment when resorting to pickleball for rehab. He is forced to face the ghosts of his past athletic failures while discovering his identity.
The opening of “The Dink” effectively establishes Dusty’s disdain for pickleball. It capitalizes on all of the common criticisms: the sport’s “gimmicky” nature, the conversion of tennis courts into pickleball courts and the misconception that it’s “easy.” By emphasizing all of these stereotypes early on, it makes it that much more entertaining when inevitably… he has to transition from tennis to pickleball.
Rather than making fun of the sport, “The Dink” actively embraces all of its quirks. In the process, fans and skeptics can buy into the friendly competition that it offers.
“You’ve got dink written all over your face! I’m no dink.”
While “The Dink” has plenty of hilarious moments, the comedy overextends at times. Characters repeat the same joke in five different ways, and unfortunately, it never becomes any funnier. Ben Stiller’s Dr. Stone, specifically, is only present for humor; the strange, recurring sticky-honey.com bit doesn’t land.
Luckily, the cast is charming enough to make up for this. Jake Johnson (Dusty) brings his usual charismatic presence. Those who know him from “New Girl,” and movies like “Let’s Be Cops” and “Self Reliance,” are familiar with the comedic energy that he brings to the table. It’s much of the same here, delivering constant laughs — even with lines that have no business being funny. Ed Harris (Chuck) plays the “punchable” father well. Rigid and straightforward, he keeps Chuck void of personality. Mary Steenburgen (Candace) is another pleasant addition to the ensemble cast, as are Aaron Chen (PJ), Chloe Fineman (Marisa) and Patton Oswalt (Skip).
Where the film struggles most, though, is in its emotional moments. Sean Clements attempts to insert sincerity into the screenplay, but virtually all of these segments feel forced. This hinders the pacing, with tonal inconsistencies preventing the 102-minute runtime from being consistently rewarding. Because of this, “The Dink” ends up feeling much more like 2 hours rather than the 90 minutes it probably should have been.
There is one strong heartfelt aspect: Dusty’s relationship with his dad. Exploring themes of expectation and self-worth, the film looks towards the past in hopes of creating a better future. The father-son connection is key to this, anchoring the silly premise in emotions that almost everyone feels at some point in their lives.
“This is me, Dad. For better or for worse. And you don’t respect me. And you never have. So I’m not gonna play for you. I’m gonna enter the duel, but not for the tennis side. Today, I’m playing for the pickleballers.”
More importantly than anything else, “The Dink” makes pickleball look fun. Director of photography Carl Herse captures the beauty of the sport, mixing wide-angle and overhead shots to show all of the on-court competition. When close-ups are utilized, Greg Hayden’s editing keeps the back-and-forth action flowing.
“The Dink” is about as high-stakes as you would expect for a movie about pickleball. It’s laidback entertainment that will likely have you ready to pick up a paddle and play.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
