Jake Johnson, Ben Stiller’s new sports comedy ‘The Dink’ sets release date at Apple TV+
The sports-comedy genre has recently found success on streaming platforms such as Netflix and Hulu. Apple TV+ has also explored the genre with Owen Wilson's golf series 'Stick' and the hit comedy series 'Ted Lasso'. In keeping with the genre's popularity, Apple TV recently released the trailer for the upcoming sports comedy 'The Dink,' starring Jake Johnson and Ben Stiller. The forthcoming Apple Original film, directed by Josh Greenbaum, will begin streaming on Apple TV on July 24.
The plot of 'The Dink' follows Johnson as he plays Dusty Boyd, a former tennis prodigy who is past his prime and aggravates an old injury that prevents him from continuing to play. Veteran actor Ed Harris plays Dusty's father, Chuck, and is vehemently opposed to the idea of pickleball being a popular and respectable sport. Despite his father's disapproval, Dusty takes up pickleball to recover and meets his new sports partner, Candace, portrayed by Mary Steenburgen, forming unexpected connections along the way. The film also features Patton Oswalt, Chloe Fineman, Aaron Chen, Chris Parnell, and tennis star Andy Roddick, while Ben Stiller appears in the trailer.
The trailer kicks off with Chuck spewing dogmatic hatred for pickleball and upholding the sanctity of tennis. This attitude eventually seeps into Dusty as well, as he bullies older pickleball players who are just trying to have fun. Dusty continues to rely on his past tennis glory when he was fondly referred to as 'The Hammer.' After sustaining an injury on the tennis court, Dusty is advised by Stiller, who remarks in the trailer, "I know pickleball is sorta dorky, but it’s the fastest road back to tennis for you." Soon enough, Dusty eventually gets an opportunity to face tennis legend Andy Roddick.
The screenplay of the upcoming Apple TV+ movie is written by Sean Clements. Stiller, known for producing and starring in the 2004 sports comedy 'Dodgeball', is also producing 'The Dink.' He is joined by Johnson, John Lesher, Rob Paris, and Mike Witherill as producers. Rob Paris and John Lesher. Speaking in an interview with Pickleball.com, Johnson revealed that his impression of the sport evolved during the production of the film. Johnshon had mentioned, "I read the script, and I’d never played pickleball. I didn’t give it much thought. I thought of it as, ‘I’ll just pick it up.' Our director, Josh Greenbaum, wanted to make it a real sports movie, so the pickleball is represented. We shot the hell out of the pickleball stuff, and it looks good."
