Movie review
A sunny summer comedy that provides fleeting but genuine pleasure, “The Dink” is a sports movie that tackles a vast cultural divide: tennis vs. pickleball. Tennis club owner Chuck (Ed Harris) despises pickleball, calling it “the novel coronavirus of sports,” and claiming that it is the responsibility of all who love tennis to “become the vaccine.” But, as it happens, Chuck’s son Dusty (Jake Johnson), a washed-up 40-something former pro who reluctantly teaches scornful kids at his dad’s club, finds himself drawn to the charms of pickleball — and to those of his new friend Candace (Mary Steenburgen), a pickleball hobbyist who urges him to try something different.
Directed by Josh Greenbaum (“Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar”) from a screenplay by Sean Clements, “The Dink” is the sort of loosely tossed-together comedy in which you suspect the actors are ad-libbing half of their lines, but it works. The cast is full of funny people in supporting roles, popping up like bouncing tennis balls: Patton Oswalt, Ben Stiller, Chloe Fineman, Chris Parnell, Aaron Chen and an absolutely scene-stealing John McEnroe, who may well have missed his calling. Speaking of tennis stars, Andy Roddick also shows up, to make fun of himself (he’s plugging a memoir called “Advantage Me”). And though this isn’t a rom-com (despite a sly reference to “The Graduate”), Johnson and Steenburgen have an unexpectedly appealing chemistry.
If you, like me, know next to nothing about pickleball, you’ll find some amusing nomenclature here (starting with the title, which isn’t an insult — despite what Dusty thinks — but a particular kind of slow-moving drop shot). Do people at pickleball courts really shout “Fresh pickle!” when a newbie arrives? And are certain players really known as “grunters”? “The Dink” will surely be forgotten by the first autumn leaf, but for now it’s an enjoyable diversion with a welcome message: Sometimes in life, you don’t have to swing so hard to be a winner.
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