The Dink

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2:22

The Dink

PG-13

2026

1h 42m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

75%

Tomatometer

84 Reviews

59%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

Washed up former tennis prodigy Dusty Boyd (Jake Johnson) has been reduced to coaching unruly children at his father Chuck's (Ed Harris) suburban country club. Desperate for his father's approval, Dusty blindly supports Chuck's vendetta against the new craze taking over the club: pickleball. But when Dusty reaggravates an old injury, taking away his ability to play tennis, he resorts to the unthinkable in the name of rehab. He not only tries pickleball, but, thanks in part to his enchanting new partner, Candace (Mary Steenburgen), he finds himself actually enjoying it. Torn between two worlds, Dusty is forced to finally face the ghosts of his past athletic failures, including his childhood nemesis, Andy Roddick (Andy Roddick). Ultimately, Dusty is drawn into a desperate battle for the future of the club, his father's affection and his very identity.

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Critics Consensus

Jake Johnson gives his all to pickleball in The Dink, a funny and easygoing enough comeback for the sports comedies of yore that leaves it all on the court with ample pizzazz.

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Audience Says

While not an overhead smash, The Dink’s game cast serves up enough good-natured humor to make it an enjoyable match.

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Martin Robinson

London Evening Standard

Jul 28

2/5

Apple TV’s new film The Dink, however, takes a disappointingly gentler approach in depicting the gentle American sport of pickleball when it should, surely, be taking a wrecking ball to it.

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Jared Richards

The Age (Australia)

Jul 27

2/5

Much like the gentle pickleball lob it’s named after, The Dink plods along lightly, pleasant enough but subdued.

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

Jul 25

2/5

Harris is typically effective as the sociopathic paterfamilias but it’s a familiar performance that, if not quite phoned in, could almost have been delivered over Zoom.

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Sonal Pandya

Times Now

4d

3/5

There are no real surprises in terms of story, but the cast sells the narrative's turns as delightful surprises. While the movie's story is based on a tennis versus pickleball rivalry, the focus on the new sport is about how it transforms Dusty.

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Alex Hudson

Exclaim!

4d

7/10

The throwaway jokes hit as hard and as fast as a pickleball rally.

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Archi Sengupta

LeisureByte.com

4d

3.5/5

Apple TV+‘s The Dink transforms a simple pickleball premise into a surprisingly heartfelt underdog comedy, thanks to Jake Johnson’s effortless charm and Mary Steenburgen’s delightful performance.

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Ellen S

@Ellen60 6h

Jake Johnson is always funny, but this movie just didn't land most of the jokes. It was weird and not good weird. Also, technically it should have been called, "The Drop" not "The Dink". (Now, that's funny!) Fyi, people of all ages love Pickleball not just older people. Ever hear of Anna Leigh Waters?

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Jeffrey C

@jpc867 12h

I really found the anticlimactic final match to be so funny, the antithesis of the athletic extremes usually seen in a sports movie finale just whittled down to little soft back and forth hits was sublime. Loved the Stiller scenes, and Mary Steenburgen is just so likeable in this role. Great jokes, fun watch, and the type of silly, low stakes comedy that should be in theaters.

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@RT26512996 14h

Astonishing! Loved this movie! So funny, interesting, with so many amazing supporting characters. I was wowed by Ben Stiller, Ed Harris and others

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Sharang L

@Scribe187 1d

Predictable, harmless, sporadically funny.

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Bryon D.

@RT15347691 1d

Funny, kept my interest for pickleball. Had a good time even though silly movie

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Audrey R

@Audrey1700 1d

Really enjoyed this one! It’s got a great cast, and a lot of laughs. Trying not to spoil anything here, but I was really pleasantly surprised by the storyline between Jake and Mary’s characters. I thought it was built and overall handled very well. I really loved New Girl back in the day, so am a Jake fan. If you like his humor in other things, I think you’ll enjoy this too. Was surprised at the amount of heart. Also loved some of the more absurd moments!

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Josh Greenbaum

Director

Jake Johnson

Dusty Boyd

Mary Steenburgen

Candace

Ed Harris

Chuck Boyd

Ben Stiller

Dr. Stone

Patton Oswalt

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Synopsis

Washed up former tennis prodigy Dusty Boyd (Jake Johnson) has been reduced to coaching unruly children at his father Chuck's (Ed Harris) suburban country club. Desperate for his father's approval, Dusty blindly supports Chuck's vendetta against the new craze taking over the club: pickleball. But when Dusty reaggravates an old injury, taking away his ability to play tennis, he resorts to the unthinkable in the name of rehab. He not only tries pickleball, but, thanks in part to his enchanting new partner, Candace (Mary Steenburgen), he finds himself actually enjoying it. Torn between two worlds, Dusty is forced to finally face the ghosts of his past athletic failures, including his childhood nemesis, Andy Roddick (Andy Roddick). Ultimately, Dusty is drawn into a desperate battle for the future of the club, his father's affection and his very identity.

Director: Josh Greenbaum
Producer: Ben Stiller, John Lesher, Rob Paris, Mike Witherill, Jake Johnson
Screenwriter: Sean Clements
Distributor: Apple TV
Production Co: Red Hour Films, Rivulet Media, Apple Original Films
Rating: PG-13 (Sexual Material|Strong Language)
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 24, 2026
Runtime: 1h 42m

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