It’s interesting that Apple TV’s latest original film The Dink was released within a week of Netflix’s new Will Ferrell series The Hawk, because they’re both tennis-themed comedies about “past-their-prime” athletes in the midst of comebacks. The Hawk is representative of Netflix excess; an interesting enough idea for a film is stretched out into eight episodes, and the narrative itself might be an acknowledgement that Ferrell is no longer a hot commodity. The Dink might’ve fallen in the same category had it been pitched as a wacky satire, but the film’s surprisingly sincere and sparse. The number of celebrity cameos, supporting performances from comedians, and set pieces are reduced, which might’ve been a compromise made to keep Jake Johnson as its star. Johnson’s a talented comic actor, but his quota is a fraction of what would be asked of the fourth or fifth lead in The Hawk.
Johnson established himself as a likeable slacker in New Girl. Although it wouldn’t be hard to imagine Johnson in many of the films that Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, or Owen Wilson had in the last decade, his seven seasons of work on New Girl only led him to minor roles in blockbusters like Jurassic World and The Mummy. Johnson’s best films have been his collaborations with writer/director Joe Swanberg, whose independent dramedies Digging for Fire and Drinking Buddies were among the few works from the “mumblecore” movement that weren’t bad improv. The Dink is directed by Josh Greenbaum, a television veteran who helmed several episodes of New Girl with Johnson.
The most apt film to compare The Dink to is Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, and not just because they were both produced by Ben Stiller. They’re competition films where a less-respected sport is at the center; dodgeball and pickleball are fun, but they’re not at the Olympics. The difference is that Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story became a cult classic because of its over-the-top performances and lampooning of sports film cliches, which acknowledged that dodgeball itself is just a means to put together an ensemble of character actors. The Dink doesn’t have the tone of Marty Supreme, but it's serious about the argument that anything that can cause self-improvement is worth taking seriously.
Johnson’s character, Dusty Boyd, is a washed-up child tennis prodigy who blew his shot when he transitioned to the professional league, despite the coaching of his aggressive father Chuck (Ed Harris). Dusty never got over this disappointment and became a tennis instructor at Chuck’s club, and they’re increasingly annoyed by the popularity of pickleball among residents. To kickstart Dusty’s redemptive arc, and thus a tournament is held. Chuck’s pro-tennis advocates play against the club’s pickleball supporters, and the winner will determine which sport’s banned from the community. Although Dusty expected to be his father’s choice, he’s passed over for Andy Roddick (who’s cast as a fictionalized version of himself). Dusty is instead made the lead of the pro-pickleball side after flirtations with the older club member Candace (Mary Steenburgen).
The film is melancholy; Dusty’s failure to become a pro isn’t credited to a ridiculous crash-out, but the anxiety of not being able to live up to his father’s expectations. It’s a good role for Johnson, but his dry humor isn’t enough to elevate a film where the majority of the cast has been playing it straight. Comedian Aaron Chen is given the role of Dusty’s sidekick PJ, but doesn’t add any laughs. Patton Oswalt is also brought in for one scene nearly identical to his episode of Parks and Recreation, and ex-Saturday Night Live star Chloe Fineman has nothing to do as Dusty’s ex. Roddick’s a decent actor, especially when compared to other athletes, but there isn’t a joke beyond the fact that he’s in the film.
Despite the suggestion of sincerity, the plot mechanics used to turn Dusty into a pickleball supporter are hackneyed. It’s after injuring his wrist that it’s suggested Dusty play pickleball to improve his flexibility by his doctor, played by Stiller in a lifeless cameo. The most interesting idea is that Dusty has to learn to admit that he’s enjoyed pickleball, even though it’ll incite his father.
Harris’ casting is interesting because this isn’t the type of role that he’d usually sign on to; while other luminaries of the 1980s have taken paychecks to do lazy comedy work, Harris has been professional in his output, even when he stopped getting cast in major roles. He’s one of the greatest living actors, but Chuck isn’t allowed to be that nasty or mean-spirited in a PG-13 film. Dusty’s romance with Candace is also fruitless, and the age gap is never meaningfully acknowledged. Perhaps it was intended to be a subversive commentary on how often male actors have significantly younger female love interests; the 25-year difference between Johnson and Steenburgen is lower than that of Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt in As Good As It Gets (26), Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal in Crazy Heart (28), or Michael Keaton and Andrea Riseborough in Birdman (31).
The Dink is harmless, but a disappointment for Greenbaum, whose previous film Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar might’ve been a breakout hit had it not been dumped on VOD during the Covid pandemic. There’s not a cynical bone in The Dink, but it’s curious that so many funny people got together to make a film that’s mostly a bore.