The Dink

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2:22

The Dink

PG-13

2026

1h 42m

Comedy

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Popcornmeter

75%

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84 Reviews

60%

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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

2d

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!

2d

7/10

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

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Archi Sengupta

LeisureByte.com

3d

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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Bryon D.

@RT15347691 56m

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

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Julie G

@RT14955612 13h

Loved it! My husband and I watched it together and we both laughed out loud through the whole movie. So many great one-liners and all of the characters were so fun to watch. I am already a fan of Jake Johnson's brand of humor. If you don't like his style, you might not like it, but we sure did! Great movie for a Friday night for a few solid laughs.

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Wayne M

@Wayne93 1d

The D*nk is an amiable and fun film that is quite enjoyable and easy to watch. Dustin Boyd was a former tennis prodigy whose career was ended through injury. Years later he works at his father's tennis club. When the club comes under threat from pickleball enthusiasts the club's existence feels threatened. Pickleball is looked down on by the tennis people and they intend to move them on through an orchestrated duel. Dustin will represent the tennis club, but when he gets injured he actually turns to pickleball to rehabilitate, setting up quite a funny situation. Even though the story is rather predictable, it actually has quite a few funny moments. This is thanks to a rather talented cast, led by Jake Johnson and Ben Stiller. Ed Harris is also good value. A light and breezy film, ideal for a watch at home.

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ARNEZ C

@Arny6tearz 1d

dusty found what he was looking for in pickle ball of all places this was so much fun & really enjoyable always been a fan of Jake since new girl I enjoy his work also Ed was awesome in this

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Socorro K

@Socorro270 1d

Sadly, netflix level. Apple should stick to series, their movies are 'meh'

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Chris H

@BeardedRonin 1d

Nick Miller, Pickleball Pro

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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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