The Dink Review: A Comedy That Scores, Even If the Final Rally Doesn’t Pickleball’snew comedy has the cast, the characters and plenty of laughs. Gordon Watson just wishes it had shown more of the sport at its spectacular best. By Gordon Watson I walked into The Dink hoping for the pickleball version of Dodgeball.
You know the formula. A little quirky. A little ridiculous.
Plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. A cast of lovable misfits chasing an almost impossible dream, with enough over-the-top sporting action to make you want to grab a paddle the moment the credits roll. On paper, The Dink looked like it had all the ingredients.
A stellar cast? Tick. A sport exploding in popularity?
Tick. The wonderfully eccentric culture surrounding pickleball? Double tick.
Thankfully, the movie delivers plenty of laughs, although not always where you would expect. The story centres on the wonderfully weird world that every pickleball player knows exists. Every club has its politics.
Every club has its characters. Every club has someone who takes social play just a little too seriously. Som ew here, lurking in the background, is the eternal debate.
Tennis versus pickleball. The film has a lot of fun poking that particular bear. Whether you are a lifelong tennis player who reluctantly wandered onto a pickleball court or someone who has never picked up a tennis racquet, you will recognise the rivalry immediately.
It is affectionate, exaggerated and surprisingly relatable. One of the movie’s real highlights is its collection of cameos. Former world No. 1 Andy Roddick pops up, while the ever-opinionated John McEnroe makes an appearance that feels perfectly on brand.
Seeing tennis royalty acknowledge pickleball, even with tongues firmly planted in cheeks, adds another layer of fun to the film. But if I am honest, I could not help feeling that the film makers left a few points on the table. For a movie celebrating the world’s fastest-growing sport, this felt like the perfect opportunity to bring in some of pickleball’s genuine superstars.
Imagine appearances from Ben Johns, Anna Leigh Waters, Tyson McGuffin, Catherine Parenteau or Danni-Elle Townsend woven into the story itself. For pickleball fans, those cameos would have landed every bit as well as spotting anN BA legend in a basketball comedy. Instead, the film leans heavily on actors pretending to play pickleball rather than show casing the incredible athleticism that has helped turn the sport into a global phenomenon.
That is particularly noticeable in the film’s final showdown. Without giving too much away, I expected a dramatic championship point full of firefights, ATPs, Ernes and impossible gets. Instead, we get what can only be described as a rather underw helm ing hands battle.
It felt like the cinematic equivalent of ordering a gourmet burger and being served lettuce. Fresh lettuce. Very wet lettuce.
For anyone who has watched professional pickleball over the past few years, the climax simply does not capture the speed, power and athleticism the modern game now produces. It is probably the movie’s biggest missed opportunity. But here is the thing.
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Despite that disappointment, I still found myself thoroughly enjoying The Dink. Why? Because it understands something more important than third-shot drops.
It understands pickleball people. The friendships. The club politics.
The endless debates. The social dynamics. The wonderfully obsessive personalities.
The little rituals that become part of every club. And perhaps my favourite contribution to modern cinema: “Antiquing.” Let’s just say it has now officially entered my everyday vocabulary. You will know it when you see it.
Like Dodgeball, this is not really a movie about sport. It is a movie about people who happen to play sport. That is exactly why it works.
Friends who are not nearly as pickleball-obsessed as I am enjoyed it and laughed just as much as I did. You do not need to understand kitchen violations, DUPR ratings or whether a paddle is therm oform ed to enjoy this film. The comedy stands on its own.
Pickleball simply provides the backdrop. Perhaps that is the movie’s greatest strength. It does not try to convince people to play pickleball.
It simply invites them into this wonderfully quirky community for a couple of hours. By the end, you suspect that quite a few viewers will be searching for their nearest pickleball club. The Dink makes for a terrific Friday-night watch with your doubles partner, your clubmates or even that friend who is still convinced pickleball is “just m ini tennis”.
They might not become converts immediately. But they will probably laugh a lot more than they expected. Rating: 3.5 out of 5 It may not deliver the spectacular on-court action pickleball fans were hoping for, but it serves up enough heart, humour and wonderfully quirky characters to make it a thoroughly enjoyable watch.
Just do not expect the final rally to provide the highlight reel.
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