Tin Cup

First of all, this is a golf film. A great golf film. The best golf film. But there is more to it than just being a golf film. It´s the classic tale of a washed-up hero wanting to get the girl. But Kevin Costner gives this role something more. Okay, it´s not an oscar-winning role, but the performance sure as heck should be.

And it´s nice to see a golf film with a screenwriter who actually seems to know what the game really is about. For those who are not into golf, just look at Mr. Costner´s every move and how he delivers his lines as a drunken golf pro. In fact the whole cast is excellent. In comparison to films like Bagger Vance, Happy Gilmore and Caddyshack this film is the only one that explains why we men are so hooked on this game. If you see this movie more than five times, the music might start to get on your nerves. But it´s okay, it´s impossible to add music to a golf film, because the sport itself is so timeless and silent.

Underdog sports movies walk a fine line with clichés; romantic comedies walk a fine line with clichés. "Tin Cup" is both these things and walks the finest of the fine lines, and though it leans toward the cliché, it never completely loses its balance. Its likable swagger behind star Kevin Costner -- a similar swagger to that of "Bull Durham," also directed by Ron Shelton -- is what makes it one of the more memorable fault-filled sports movies.

Like the previous (and slightly better) Costner-Shelton collaboration of "Durham," this film is a romantic sports comedy about a trashy/washed-up athlete who wastes a lot of talent and somehow manages to attract sexual attention.

Costner stars as West Texan Roy McAvoy, referred to sometimes as 'Tin Cup,' a talented college golfer who somehow ended up a golf pro at a downtrodden driving range with his amigo Romeo (Cheech Marin) while his college teammate David Simms (Don Johnson) went on to be a star. Roy is a betting man who goes with his gut, ignores reason and uses golf metaphors to make sense of life. When an anal retentive psychiatrist named Molly (Rene Russo) shows up at his range for lessons, Roy is smitten, only to find she's with Simms. Of course the only way to win her over is to try and make the U.S. Open, right?

Costner and Russo have forced character chemistry. There's no reason for either of them to be interested in each other, save that Roy wants a challenge compared to the white trash women he's interested in. There's certainly no reason for Molly to leave her tournament- winning boyfriend for a sleazeball. And you know it's true when the dialogue directly addresses why they fell for the other like it's justification or something.

The machismo fueling Roy and his buddies in the movie, constantly betting each other and insulting the other when he lays up and plays it safe is childish, but it brings the film its humor and keeps it from being a straight through underdog movie. Its more interested in its characters than building up plot suspense, which is a good thing, if only the characters behaved in realistic ways.

"Tin Cup" is a giant golf metaphor for life, about how taking risks -- no matter how many times you fail -- is always worth it. Shelton's film is gutsy in the same way, finding different ways of telling a sports story that will make it feel different. It goes about it in an amateur way, but it's the bravado that it will be remembered for. Shelton's films have this miraculous tendency to only let their best parts stick with you. They're the kinds of movies that make for great channel-surfing finds on TV. That's really what "Tin Cup" is.

~Steven C

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From an acting standpoint, "Tin Cup" may be Kevin Costner's best movie. Here he plays Roy McAvoy, a burned-out, washed-out, down-n-out golf pro a way out in West Texas. He's broke, drunk most of the time, and convinced of his own worthlessness -- hence his attraction to poetry and a puffed-up opinion of his own heroics on the golf course (he's got to have something hold on to). Roy is just this side of being a complete bum -- this is one of the few movies I've seen on any subject that actually addresses the financial condition of its loose-living hero.

"Tin Cup" is all about the dire straits of this character, and Costner is more than up to the challenge of playing this guy convincingly. Costner for once packs everything into his performance: charm, wit, sarcasm, hopelessness, bitterness, and more than a little arrogance. He is funny, laidback and shows remarkable athletic skill. He tops his career-best work in "Bull Durham" here (not surprising, since this is another Ron Shelton film).

The movie also works great as a classic heroic Quest story. McAvoy is on a mythic quest, not for the perfect 18 holes, certainly not for money, but for love. "Tin Cup" could easily have been titled "Quixote Jousts at Windmills in West Texas." Best of all, McAvoy KNOWS he's on a quest; when he refers to it in his dialogue, it sounds pathtically funny, but when you hold this story up to the ancient pattern of the heroic quest as described by Joseph Campbell, it really rings true.

Probably the most interesting aspect of "Tin Cup" is that it also works as a metaphor for what Costner has done with his career. Here's a guy who could have played it safe and easy after all those Oscars, but took off on crazy flights of fancy like "Waterworld" and lost badly. (He continued to play unsafe shots after 1996, with almost every movie that followed this one.) McAvoy plays the game his way, on a dare, on a bet, with outrageous egotism and a willingness to lose it all -- publicly. That's what Costner has done at his own game. Was "Open Range" the dreaded safe shot that corrected his course?

TIN CUP (1996) *** Kevin Costner, Rene Russo, Don Johnson, Cheech Marin, Linda Hart, Dennis Burkley. Charming romantic comedy with Costner in top form as down-on-his-luck golf pro/loser Roy McAvoy out to woo brainy psychotherapist Russo (her best role and acting yet) by turning his life around and making an attempt at getting a shot at golf's US Open with only himself and rival Johnson in the way. Funny and surprisingly smart screenplay by writer director Ron Shelton and Marin stealing every scene as Costner's sidekick/mentor. A real winner for anyone whoever considered themselves a loser.

If your an average Joe club golfer this movies for you!! I just watched it for the umpteenth time and enjoyed as much as I did the first time. I'm a movie buff but a golf nut too and I rarely watch a movie twice let alone multiple times. However, I'm an avid golfer and have been over 30 yrs since college. And this flick really 'gets' the average duffer and shows so many scenes that we've all experienced or watched at our local clubs. Obnoxious rich guys that can't golf a lick...betting the local ace who never loses a bet, the camaraderie club golfers have, betting on anything and everything, the drinking, the competition and the celebration of great shots... it brings back memories of everybody who's played club golf for many years and the comedy of it all is familiar and lots of fun. It's not an academy award winner but a fun movie with lots of laughs for those of us who've spent many years, weekends and playing hooky from work to play this crazy game. Comical for those who've never played, but much more so for the avid golfer who's a 1 handicap or a 25. And the romance of the main character and his therapist was very cute as well. It's a timeless movie. Golf doesn't change much, only those who play it. Even though it's 25 yrs old at time I write this, if you love golf, it's players and all the shenanigans in between the 1st and 19th hole, you'll find this a treat. Watch it again old farts or for first time young golfers... it's a good 'guys night out flick' and a hoot with a few friends, beers and shots to go with it.