Pickleball, the world’s most trending sport, has now got a movie adaptation. It’s a new sports comedy feature helmed by Josh Greenbaum (“Will & Harper,” “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar” and upcoming “Spaceballs 2”) and produced by Ben Stiller and John Lesher for Red Hour Films, and Rob Paris and Mike Witherill for Rivulet Entertainment.
“The Dink” stars Jake Johnson as a washed-up tennis pro Dusty Boyd, known as “The Hammer”, who, desperate to save a struggling club and earn his father’s respect, is compelled to break a sacred vow and do the unthinkable: play pickleball. His father Chuck (Academy Award nominee Ed Harris) is openly hostile to the pickleball craze that’s slowly taking over the club, and Dusty, eager for his dad’s approval, goes along with it.
Then Dusty re-aggravates an old injury. Tennis is off the table. And the only road back, according to Stiller’s character, runs straight through the sport his father can’t stand. Dusty reluctantly picks up a paddle, finds an unexpected partner in Candace (Academy Award nominee Mary Steenburgen), and, shocker, starts actually enjoying himself. What follows is the part every sports comedy needs: an identity crisis, an old rival, and a guy figuring out who he is when the thing that used to define him is gone.
The cast of “The Dink” also includes Chloe Fineman, Aaron Chen, Patton Oswalt, Chris Parnell, Christine Taylor and the late Lynne Marie Stewart. Tennis legends Andy Roddick and John McEnroe will also be in key supporting roles, the former playing Dusty’s old rival. The script is written by Sean Clements of Kevin can F**k Himself fame and executive produced by Rick Steele, Clements, Greenbaum, Joe Hardesty, Jonathan McCoy and Daniel Crosser.
So dust up your paddle, roll up your sleeves, and adjust your headband. This movie’s going to work up a sweat.
