The Dink review:
For an easy-on-the-eye sports comedy, the most fascinating and unconventional aspect of director Josh Greenbaum’s The Dink on Apple TV is its exploration of failure and its impact on an ageing athlete. The film follows Dusty Boyd (Jake Johnson), a narcissistic tennis player and his efforts to impress his father, Chuck (Ed Harris), who heads a tennis club. When a growing pickleball community within it threatens the existence of tennis at the club, Chuck decides to settle the conflict with a winner-take-all match. Meanwhile, Dusty finds it frustrating that his father does not want him to represent the tennis club in the match because the old man thinks less of him as a player. It is an interesting conflict, but The Dink is content to be a mild comedy with some amusing moments and little else.
The humour in the film is mostly hit-and-miss. Some of the back-and-forth involving Dusty and his friend, PJ (Aaron Chen), is genuinely funny. For example, Dusty uses a fictional story to ask PJ for his opinion on dating an older woman, only for PJ to reveal that he has objectophilia—a romantic attraction to inanimate objects. It is bizarre and hilarious at once. Cameos by real-life tennis players Andy Roddick and John McEnroe also elevate the comedy from its mundane depths. McEnroe, in particular, delivers a deadpan performance that is reminiscent of the great Bill Murray, single-handedly eliciting some of the best laughs in The Dink.
However, the film fails to hit it out of the park because of a lack of focus on the central story involving the father and son. The film spends considerable time on Dusty’s romantic attraction to Candace (Mary Steenburgen). It flirts with a stroke of genius when Candace reacts to Dusty’s proposal, prompting Johnson to channel the same 'sore loser' energy that plagued his tennis career. However, the film quickly abandons this insight, shifting its focus away from Dusty’s narcissism to generic romantic comedy beats.
Director: Josh Greenbaum
Cast: Jake Johnson, Ed Harris, Mary Steenburgen, Aaron Chen
Streamer: Apple TV
It is a pity that the makers have named the film The Dink, a reference to a shot in pickleball where the ball lands gently over the net. However, unlike the shot it is named after, there is hardly any ingenuity in the storytelling to catch the audience off guard. When Dusty expresses his condescension towards pickleball early on, we already know that he will eventually fall in love with the sport and can tell what will happen in the climax. Similarly, Dusty’s tall tale about a tennis match with Andy Roddick sets up a predictable payoff later in the film. All of this makes the overall narrative feel formulaic. Ironically, the few attempts to inject plot twists lack the finesse or subtlety that the title promises.
That said, the cast does admirable work with the given material. Jake Johnson is no Adam Sandler or Bill Murray, but he balances Dusty’s narcissism with a sense of affability and innocence that makes him easily likeable. Johnson's restraint shines brightest in a scene where Dusty holds back tears while watching old footage of his actual match with Roddick. This is where the film and the actor show flashes of brilliance. Commendably, Johnson does not sleepwalk through the role, grounding Dusty's occasional self-pity in genuine emotion. Meanwhile, Ed Harris leans into his trademark 'tough guy' persona like only he can, although the actor gets to do very little with the straightforward role of Chuck. Aaron Chen is genuinely amusing as Dusty’s friend, PJ, whereas Mary Steenburgen plays the protagonist’s friend cum love interest with much ease and grace. There is also Ben Stiller in a heavily underused cameo as a doctor with a thing for online porn.
Unfortunately, despite all the commendable performances, The Dink barely makes it past the finish line. Ultimately, the film’s staunch adherence to conventional storytelling formula robs it of its charm.
