‘The Dink’ review: Failed tennis prodigy Jake Johnson regains his self-esteem with a game of Pickleball in sports comedy Anodyne on Apple TV

The presence of Ben Stiller as lead producer and supporting player reinforces the impression Dink He wants to do for pickleball what Dodgeball I did for that sport. Jake Johnson stars in this watchable but completely vanilla sports comedy on Apple TV, an underdog triumphant tale about a once-promising tennis prodigy who rediscovers his magic on the pickleball court. If this sounds stupid and formulaic, it is, despite Johnson’s charismatic screen persona and his brief detour into misguided May-December romance. As the original broadcast movies go, it’s not the worst, and it’s not at all memorable.

Josh Greenbaum, who worked on both narrative features (Barb and Star go to Vista del Mar) and documents (Will and Harper) and the next face Space balls Sequel, he knows his way around comedy. But there is only so much juice he can inject into Sean Clements’ projected scenario. Even an ensemble packed with veterans of stand-up, sitcoms, and sketch comedy fails to bring much distinction to the material. When John McEnroe pokes fun at his unfiltered tennis commentary style, it’s as close to being funny as it gets, maybe there’s something missing.

Johnson plays Dustin Boyd, whose father Chuck (Ed Harris) has trained him to excel at tennis since early childhood. He won every possible junior tournament, and his brutal serve earned him the nickname “The Hammer.” (He drives a car with an emblazoned “DE-HAMMR” plate.) But young Dusty caught fire when he faced fellow up-and-comer Andy Roddick in a title match that served as his gateway to professional tennis. A broken wrist curtailed his career ambitions.

Dustin now puts minimal effort into coaching a privileged 9-year-old brat at his father’s tennis club, while enjoying the adulation of his obsessive friend P.J. (Aaron Chen), the only one still impressed by Dusty’s embellished tales of his glory days. When a stray pickleball from a nearby playground lands at his feet, he insults Candace (Mary Steenburgen), the woman who politely comes to claim it. “This is a tennis club, lady,” he growled, before unilaterally banning her.

Much of the early humor revolves around the arrogance of tennis fans toward the rampant obsession with pickleball, a sport whose paddle and perforated plastic ball and its popularity among the elderly make an easy target for jokes. Chuck sees its rapid spread as an existential threat to tennis, especially when baseball advocate Skip (Patton Oswalt) begins taking over more of his courts. In some vague plot, those negotiations will hinge on a duel between star players on both sides. But when Dusty stumbles and aggravates an old wrist injury, it knocks him out of the race.

In one of many forced comedy scenes that feel improvised out of the night and fail to elicit laughs, Dusty consults a sex-obsessed doctor (Ben Stiller), who advises him that pickleball will be his quickest route to wrist rehabilitation, allowing him to get back in the game before the big duel.

Given the time spent on their classic awkward meet-cute, it will surprise no one that Dusty finds himself teamed up with divorcee Candace, facing off against her frequent adversaries, Gail (Cleo King) and the saucy Judy (Lynn Marie Stewart, the beatified Miss Yvonne from Pee Wee Theaterin her last film role 💔).

Inevitably, Dusty learns that pickleball requires skill as he develops an unexpected enthusiasm (on his part, at least) for the sport, along with romantic feelings for Candace, mistaking her friendship for attraction. Fortunately, Candace eliminated that possibility Harold and Maud The situation nips, leaving Steenburgen with her dignity intact.

This is as risky as Clements’ scenario. From now on, every story will be familiar to anyone who’s seen a loser’s redemption movie. Mostly, the film is about Dusty’s desperate attempt to gain approval from his emotionally cold father, in which Roddick plays a role, gamely showing himself in an unsporting light. (Poor Harris deserves better than Chuck’s unconvincing paternal atonement scene.)

Johnson (best known for the Fox sitcom New girl And as the sarcastic voice of the older Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and his minions) makes a nice introduction, and manages to retain the viewer’s sympathy even before the humbling, when he’s being an obnoxious idiot. And the always welcome Steenburgen brings a comforting warmth to her role. But the film doesn’t demand much of anyone in the group; Comedians like Chloe Fineman, Chris Parnell, and Fortune Feimster are wasted in random roles.

Like most meat grinders, unwritten originals, Dink — named after the often-decisive shot — has the gentle sheen of an insurance commercial. There’s also a score by Dara Taylor, along with similar pulsating needle drops. But no United. In fact, there’s nothing beyond background noise while preparing dinner. The most ingenious thing about it is that it’s not called Pickleball.