‘Stick’ Shoots Well Under Par (That’s A Good Thing)

Apple’s new golf comedy, Stick, could very well be called Schtick. Amid the glut of true crime and emergency room turmoil, Stick delivers some much welcome hilarity. Most of this is due to the show’s lead, Owen Wilson, who brings his Wedding Crashers charm and unique comedic timing to this fun, half-hour diversion. In short, Wilson owns Stick – and raises the bar for Happy Gilmore 2, Adam Sandler’s forthcoming golf comedy movie.

Wilson’s Pryce Cahill, whose nickname is “Stick,” is a washed-up golf pro– an ex Ryder Cup player–whose life is on hold, at best. He’s “squatting” in his ex-wife’s (Judy Greer) home, which he treats as if he’s auditioning for Hoarders, and he’s not getting by selling over-priced golf equipment to gullible wannabes. Pryce needs a reason to reboot.

Enter Santi (Peter Dager), the next Tiger Woods, maybe.

Pryce runs into Santi–who looks a lot like the goofball oligarchy kid from Anora–at the local golf range, where Santi is taking out his aggression on golf balls, on the sly, trespassing. In Santi, who stopped playing competitively after his dad skipped out on him and his mom (Mariana Trevino) when he was 14, Pryce sees an opportunity to get back in the game. Santi’s mom is game for Pryce to be Santi’s coach-manager… if Pryce will give them $100,000 up front.

I’ll cut the major plot spoilers now.

Instead of Vince Vaughn, Wilson works off of Marc Maron, who plays “Mitts,” his curmudgeonly ex-caddy. Maron is on familiar terrain here. The show introduces us to Maron’s character in a wonderful bar scene, which whiffs of White Man Can’t Jump. This isn’t a slight. If you’re doing sports comedy, Ron Shelton, the Shakespeare of sports comedies, is a must-stop for inspiration. If you want a great golf film, check out Shelton’s Tin Cup.

Yes, Stick is very male, but it pushes hard for the “Elaine” perspective. There’s Greer, who’s wonderful as the best ex-wife in the world, as well as Santi’s mom, who clashes with Maron’s character, at least at first. We’ll see. There also appears to be another anti-patriarchy, character emerging: Zero (Lilli Kay). With that said, Stick frowns upon any bro hijinks. Yes, they load Stick with snappy, fun dialogue, but it isn’t Wedding Crashers on the links. And it has some solemn moments. Its main characters are broken in some way. However, thus far, the show isn’t dwelling upon those aspects. Stick wants to keep things light.

Thus far Apple+ has released three episodes, and I see one major obstacle for the show: Santi’s golfing ability: He’s too good. His driving borders on the supernatural. Thus, winning seems almost an afterthought, just too easy. Worse, it makes Pryce, his coach, as well as the comedic engine of the show, almost superfluous.

Another minor quibble: Stick supposedly takes place in Indiana, the heartland, home for some of the greatest sports movies: Breaking Away, Rudy, Hoosiers. Stick, however, has no Indy vibe. It could be anywhere. In actuality, they shot it in British Columbia, which is probably a lot cheaper.

These shanks aside, Stick shoots well under par. Just in case you’re not familiar with golf jargon, which you don’t have to be to enjoy this, that’s a good thing.