Owen wilson's 'stick' is up to par

The third episode of the new Apple TV+ golf comedy _Stick _is called “Daddy Issues,” but that might as well be the title of the show. Created by _Ford v. Ferrari_ writer Jason Keller, it

stars Owen Wilson as a former top golfer, Pryce Cahill, who publicly flamed out 20 years ago. He’s been mired in the past ever since, from his job at a sporting goods store to his refusal to

finalize the divorce initiated by his long-suffering wife (Judy Greer), move out of their old house, and accept that he’s no longer a husband, a father, or a pro athlete. When he spots a

surly teen at a driving range, Santi (Peter Dager), who has the makings of a major talent, Pryce sees in this potential protégé a shot at redemption. But Santi, whose now-estranged dad used

to push him too hard on the golf course, doesn’t exactly relish the prospect of having a new father figure to satisfy. Advertisement Advertisement It sounds hackneyed and

heartstring-yanking—another comedy that uses sports as a cover to talk about men’s feelings and relationships from the platform that brought us _Ted Lasso_. There are indeed elements of

_Stick_, which premieres on June 4, that come off as pandering; as if a dad-rock soundtrack (“Baba O’Riley,” “The Boys Are Back in Town”) weren’t enough, it even rips off _Lasso_’s earnest

folk theme song. While it’s a relief that Greer isn’t forced to play a harpy, the show can be cringily conspicuous in its efforts to model empathy for women. A self-described “genderqueer,

anticapitalist, postcolonial feminist” character named Zero (Lilli Kay) initially reads as an assemblage of lazy Gen Z clichés that exist mostly in the imaginations of boomers. Advertisement

Yet within the limitations of its formula, _Stick _works. A trite setup gives way to a looser road-trip vibe after Pryce convinces Santi and his savvy mom (Mariana Treviño) to pile into a

RV with him and his cranky ex-caddie (an effectively typecast Marc Maron) for a summer of amateur tournaments. Everyone is low-key lonely, with familial baggage that keeps them from

connecting with others. Thankfully, Keller’s scripts aren’t as twee or didactic about this stuff as _Lasso _and _Shrinking _creator Bill Lawrence’s tend to be. Nor are his characters

cartoons like Ted; most, including Zero, quickly become multifaceted people, courtesy of a cast blessed with unshowy charisma. A game changer it isn’t, but _Stick _still comes out a few

strokes ahead of par.