Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Dink’ on Apple TV+, a Middling Pickleball Comedy Led by Jake Johnson

By John Serba Published July 24, 2026, 5:00 p.m. ET The title The Dink (now on Apple TV+) refers to a specific move in pickleball where a player gently “dinks” the ball over the net when their opponent is likely expecting a harder shot. Of course, it’s also a double-entendre, if you so choose to take that route in defining the washed-up woulda-been/coulda-been tennis player portrayed by Jake Johnson, who also produced this comedy from Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar director Josh Greenbaum. On top of that, the film marks the second year in a row that a movie has been named after an idiosyncratic strategic slow-ball in a sport, namely, Eephus, although the comparison should probably end right there, considering Eephus is a movie that’s still worth talking about a year later. THE DINK: STR