The Dink

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2:22

The Dink

PG-13

2026

1h 42m

Comedy

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Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

75%

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84 Reviews

60%

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

5d

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!

5d

7/10

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

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Archi Sengupta

LeisureByte.com

6d

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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Oggie B

@OGDawg 9h

D is a charming, laugh-out-loud romp that knows exactly how to have fun. Clever, lighthearted, and packed with personality, it’s a delightful little comedy that hits the sweet spot.

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Yash B

@yashbansal 11h

"The Dink" is not going to change any lives, but it is light and fun enough to watch one time. The story is straightforward, and the laughs are in there. I will say the star of this movie from a comedy standpoint is Aaron Chen, who had me laughing out loud in many moments. Jake Johnson is also pretty good in the lead and has fun with it. The movie is formulaic and often the jokes do fall a bit flat, but the movie is not a terrible watch. Overall, it's an okay streaming movie that likely won't be too memorable in the years to come but is a decent time nonetheless.

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DescriberKat T

@RT12085049 12h

A surprise! Avoids most of the expected tropes — both sports movie, AND Stiller movie. The characters are written much smarter as is the norm these days. Especially for American comedy. The really strong cast is in really top form handling the material. And finally, this movie has heart. Like I said... a surprise. And definitely worth a watch.

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Caden R

@RT72101235 23h

Truly a waste of time.

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Suzanne S

@RT75118348 1d

Really fun movie. There were some corny parts for sure, but overall we were all laughing and really enjoyed it.

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Mackenzie A

@Mackenz 1d

This proof that pickleball can be a matter of life, death, and absolutely terrible athletic decisions. Ridiculously funny, weirdly wholesome, and packed with enough dad energy to power a Costco parking lot. It’s got heart, jokes, and more balls than anyone involved knows what to do with.

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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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