{"id":182799,"date":"2026-02-27T11:00:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T11:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/182799\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T11:00:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T11:00:10","slug":"pullman-market-hosts-fiesta-party-with-eve-6-fastball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/182799\/","title":{"rendered":"Pullman Market hosts Fiesta party with Eve 6, Fastball"},"content":{"rendered":"

A deeply unserious new Texas mockumentary is memorializing the state’s obsession with pickleball. Pickleheads<\/a> \u2014 a sports comedy directed by Josh Flanagan and written by and starring Jared Bonner \u2014 has dropped an official trailer ahead of its Los Angeles premiere on March 1 at the TCL Chinese Theatre.<\/p>\n

Pickleheads follows disgraced ping pong champion Barney \u201cThe Butcher\u201d Bardot (Bonner), whose spectacular fall from grace, involving an on-court bodily betrayal and personal tragedy, sends him into hiding for nine years.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone says trust your gut,\u201d Barney intones at the beginning of the film. \u201cBut what happens when your gut betrays that trust? It murders your mom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, it\u2019s that kind of movie.<\/p>\n

Barney is to find redemption in an unlikely place: pickleball, the paddle sport that has loudly taken over most of the U.S. His brother attempts to chronicle the comeback by creating a film about it.<\/p>\n

The cast blends recognizable faces with the film’s indie energy. Harvey Guill\u00e9n (Guillermo in What We Do in the Shadows) pops up as a debt collector in a small but scene-stealing role. John O’Hurley (J. Peterman in Seinfeld) appears as himself in a mock sports media setting. Kristine Froseth, Pej Vahdat, Adrianne Palicki, Eric Nelsen, Ryan Cooper, and Lindsey Morgan round out the ensemble.<\/p>\n

Viewers may also recognize comedian and disability advocate Zach Anner in a supporting role. Anner, known for his offbeat humor and online presence, fits neatly into the film\u2019s chaotic energy.<\/p>\n

\"Pickleheads Harvey Guill\u00e9n, Kristine Froseth, Jared Bonner, Ryan Cooper, and Pej Vahdat are just some of the cast in Pickleheads. Photo courtesy of Pickleheads<\/p>\n

Bonner, who moved to Austin four years ago, found his inspiration the same way many locals did: by picking up a paddle. After wrapping his previous mockumentary, Dance Dads, he started playing obsessively.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just went out to the park and played with strangers every day, and just played nonstop,\u201d he says. \u201cI was looking for my next mockumentary, and I was like, how ridiculous is this sport?\u201d<\/p>\n

The result is a film that leans into the absurdity of backyard tournaments and neighborhood turf wars, including a running joke about tennis players infiltrating pickleball courts.<\/p>\n

Shot over 12 days in and around Austin, Pickleheads features sights familiar to Capital City locals: sweeping shots of the 360 Bridge, suburban courts and houses in Dripping Springs, and distinctly Texas features, like an armadillo sanctuary. The production also staged its climactic tournament at a North Austin pickleball facility.<\/p>\n

Improv, Bonner says, was key to the film’s tone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so much freedom compared to ‘stand in this light and deliver the line,’\u201d he says. \u201cTo see them kind of open up and explore the character … it just was an absolute dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

That looseness translates into a meandering and silly comedy packed with deadpan interviews, rivalry melodrama, and escalating nonsense \u2014 including a hostage subplot and a final pickleball tournament showdown.<\/p>\n

Despite the absurdity, Bonner insists there\u2019s a sincere goal beneath the jokes. With minimal profanity and a broad comedic style that swings from physical gags to mock-serious sports commentary, Pickleheads aims to be as inclusive as the sport itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really want to bring in everybody to just laugh at a movie,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s too much dividing us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team is courting distributors, with hopes of landing on a major streaming platform later this year. As the details coalesce, Bonner advises folks to follow along on Instagram<\/a> to find out where they can watch the movie at home, or perhaps, at a pickleball court.<\/p>\n