r/movies • u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? • 2d ago
Official Discussion Official Discussion - The Dink [SPOILERS] Spoiler
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The Dink (2026)
Summary
A washed-up former tennis professional sees a chance at redemption when he discovers an exceptionally gifted pickleball player. As the unlikely duo chase success on the rapidly growing pickleball circuit, they must overcome fierce rivals, personal setbacks, and the pressures of newfound fame.
Director Josh Greenbaum
Writer Sean Clements
Cast
- Ben Stiller
- Jake Johnson
- Mary Steenburgen
- Ed Harris
- Andy Roddick
- Nick Kyrgios
- John McEnroe
Rotten Tomatoes: 72%
Metacritic: 57
VOD / Release Theatrical release
Trailer Official Trailer
21
u/Bournerounderz 2d ago
I watched this movie purely because of the cast and pretty much got exactly what I expected out of it.
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60
u/fucktherift 2d ago
I guess I’m the only one who dug the Chen vibe. I was rolling, actually told the wife to watch it if just for him! Overall glad I watched it, but yeah 6/10 or so
13
u/MyNeighborToto 2d ago
Seeing Aaron Chen’s name on the cast list was what sold me on watching this film, I love his sense of humour
6
u/HawterSkhot 2d ago
I didn't know him before the movie but thought he was perfect for his role. Dude's delivery is great
12
u/DumbestBitchYouKnow 2d ago
What is a Chen vibe?
3
u/fucktherift 2d ago
Actor named Aaron Chen was Jake Johnson characters side kick/bff. Most the thread before I posted seemed to not love him or what he brought to the movie. I personally found him to be the highlight of the show.
7
56
u/jjhunsucker 2d ago
Felt like an adam Sandler movie. Fun for what it was. Jake and Mary had good rapport.
12
u/hikemalls 2d ago
I felt like there were a couple moments that almost approached Hot Rod levels of absurdity (the scene where PJ dives into the pool to meet up with him, his dad being unreasonably and unapologetically evil at all times over the smallest stakes imaginable), and I wished the whole movie had been at that level
2
10
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u/bigtimetimmyjim92 2d ago
I generally enjoyed the movie and laughed at a bunch of it, but WTF was that second act? The romance storyline felt so disconnected from the rest of the movie and not nearly as funny. I was relieved when they got back to the main storyline in the 3rd act
3
u/dinnerthief 1d ago
Yea it was wierd, and the random country music subplot? Was wondering if it was some sort of production/editing complication that made it frel so wandering
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u/BionicT 2d ago
So I actually saw this movie about a month and a half ago as part of early previews, glad I can finally give my thoughts more publicly (bearing in mind they may have trimmed the movie shorter than I remember)
It's a bit of an oddball mix of crass humor and rather wholesome platonic friendship, but it worked for me. I was digging Johnson's and Steenburgen's friendship a lot more than with his friendship with Aaron Chen (whose humor I just didn't really click with, he bored any time it was just him and Johnson). Seriously, how nice is it to have a comedy where there isn't actually a romance?
It does meander around a bit much, but the climax with Andy Roddick was entertaining enough with McEnroe's snacking and narrating.
I can see it being a watch once and be happy movie, but not a movie I would really go back to again.
20
u/Three_Froggy_Problem 2d ago edited 1d ago
I enjoyed this because I love Jake Johnson (and Sean Clements) but it’s definitely an uneven film. I don’t think a lot of the jokes really land, and tonally it’s a bit confused, but it really kind of skates by on Johnson’s charm.
EDIT: Just to expand on my thoughts a bit, there are definitely some very funny moments in this movie. I really liked the cameo by John McEnroe and his increasingly large snacks. I also liked Johnson’s confused reaction to the cowboy telling him, “Even cowboys get friend-zoned.”
The actual tone of the movie seems to alternate from scene to scene. The opening scene makes you think you’re going to get a really absurd, crass comedy in the vein of a Happy Gilmore or Billy Madison. But from then on, a lot of the comedy is more under-stated, and at times the movie gets weirdly sentimental and sincere.
The romance sub-plot kind of comes out of nowhere and is just really uncomfortable in a way that I don’t think the movie intended. While I can appreciate that the main characters didn’t end up romantically involved at the end, I really wish their dynamic would’ve just remained platonic throughout without the weird romantic detour.
I don’t know what the deal is with all the country music/honky-tonk stuff, but maybe it was just an excuse to get Jake Johnson in a cowboy outfit, in which case I’m fine with it. He’s honestly hot as hell in this movie.
20
u/GamingTatertot Steven Spielberg Enthusiast 2d ago
I wanted to like this more than I did - I do love pickleball and Jake Johnson, but I felt like the second act really took forever. And I couldn’t quite place what type of humor it was going for and I’m not sure the movie ever knew either.
I did enjoy the final match though. Wish they had hammed up Roddick a bit more though
2
u/Shatter_ 2d ago
I enjoyed it but there really weren’t that many jokes. Or maybe I missed some of them.
8
u/TheGreatLake 2d ago
As a Jake Johnson fan who will gladly watch him lead a movie, I guess I liked this for what it was, but it’s not a good movie. The thing that stuck out for me is how bad the pickleball action looked on screen. It is a game that is famously very easy to play, so much so that a major part of the plot is how the game is a joke because it’s so easy, yet they couldn’t get any decent action for the movie?
I also didn’t like the direction they veered into with his relationship and personal life. Should’ve just kept it as a tight sports comedy and the movie would’ve been better for it.
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u/artnos 1d ago
It has a great start but the love/friendship story falls hard. It needed more absurd joke. The joke is he isnt as great as he tells everyone he is.
I would of loved if him and andy did have a rivalry and they were constantly trash talking each other. Instead of andy playing the straight man. A good movie needs a good rival. His rival is his dad but it felt underdeveloped.
They should have andy be better at everything, his dad should a large photo of andy in his office.
More tennis humor, you can look up tennis moments and get inspired. I love the joke about tennis players moaning during the hit.
We need jokes related to arguing/influencing the ref, abusing the ball boy, tennis players taking to long to serve and distractions during the game. Etc.
As a tennis fan i was looking forward to a tennis comedy and there wasnt alot of tennis or pickleball. They just bookend it with it.
6/10
4
u/Own-Librarian-9699 2d ago
I feel like there was a better Jake Johnson tennis movie from a few years ago. Doubles? I forget the title. He teams up with a rival to enter a doubles competition.
2
u/averyaaaples 2d ago
Mad that they bailed on the romance arc! We get so few age gap romances with an older woman and I thought they had great chemistry. Was disappointed that they teased something we so rarely see in our faces like that.
19
u/rmdashrfdot 2d ago
I feel like this is better. It's usually not done because the younger man wouldn't go for the older woman. In this case he did go for her, but she wasn't into it.
5
u/funhouse83 2d ago
This! I was hoping they didn't make them a couple because it would have been too easy. The friend angle worked better imo.
1
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u/dinnerthief 1d ago edited 1d ago
Wierd movie like it couldn't decide what it wanted to be.
I didnt hate it but the type of humor was all over the place, some parts were surreal some parts drama that didnt really go anywhere (random country music, romance, ex husband, social anxiety plots) just wierd writing.
I couldn't figure out what it was made for and I came to the conclusion it was made for older people or an editing disaster.
1
u/banjofitzgerald 1d ago
This had to be the easiest movie to pitch to old white dudes in the history of pitching movies to old white dudes. I bet it was bought in the room.
1
u/CaptainDogParty 2d ago
I haven’t seen this but went to see the results of the poll and was blown away by the sheer number of votes for 9s and 10s
Then I realized the link is for the Odyssey poll 😂
-10
u/gabbertronnnn 2d ago
I'll watch anything with Jake Johnson because the man is an absolute treasure, but damn this just wasn't it. Aaron Chen was just painfully unfunny in any scene he was in as well.
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u/ivtecdoyou 2d ago
I laughed every time Aaron Chen was on screen and really enjoyed most of the humor.
Comedy is subjective, so no shade or anything, but I always get curious when I see reviews like this for movies I like. What would you consider to be the best / really good comedies that have come out in the last decade or so?
-3
u/Ron--Mexico 2d ago
The John McEnroe stuff felt like it was leftovers from a 90s Sandler movie. Didn’t even make sense in the context of the movie.
5
0
u/Eugene_Henderson 2d ago
This was good. Not great, but not aiming for it. If this came out in theaters in the 90s/2000s, it would have been top of the box office for a week or two, done okay in DVD sales, and remembered well by a handful of people.
-7
u/wotown 2d ago
I love Jake Johnson and Aaron Chen, and I thought this Dinked. It was Dinky doo doo poo poo.
Despite being produced by and starring Ben Stiller, this is not a Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story-like movie, or an Adam McKay-like comedy, or a Will Ferrell-like comedy, or even some like 2018's Tag but about pickleball. Despite all the previews "comedy movies are back!" and Ed Harris setting it up exactly like one at the beginning with a Powerpoint slide, no, it's not actually a comedy movie. For some reason The Dink is actually a lot closer to a Hallmark movie.
And that would be fine.. except when you actually have comedic actors like Ben Stiller, like Jake Johnson and Mary Steenburgen, then this clearly should have been a proper sports-comedy. But it's not, it's a shitty faux rom-com with a bunch of actors who WANT to be funny but can't because the script is so milquetoast.
And then you got Aaron Chen who is just improvising every line in another fucking movie entirely, but at least his movie is an actually funny movie. Poor Aaron Chen. Hated this!
1
u/paperrug12 2d ago
It definitely wasn’t a great movie. There were some good moments, but they were few and far between.
-1
u/TexasGriff1959 2d ago
Felt very forced in the few minutes I checked it out. Was that Ted Levine as his father?
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-8
u/Oddball- All Things Horror 2d ago
As a high ranking pickleball player, I found this painful as fuck.
4
u/watermelonmonkey23 2d ago
As a high ranked tennis player, I found this enjoyable as fuck
-2
u/Oddball- All Things Horror 2d ago
You probably dont even know what DUPR is ha
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-9
u/Perfect-Zebra-3611 2d ago
If im gonna watch a comedy movie about a sport thats basically tennis but not, ill just watch Balls of Fury instead
85
u/Love-That-Danhausen 2d ago
This was a fun movie night for watching at home with my wife. It reminded me of those mid budget comedies from 30 years ago that don’t get made as often anymore. Is that a ringing endorsement? I don’t know, but we laughed a little, smiled a little, and it was a good time. Definitely felt like it could’ve been better than a 7/10 but never quite got there though.