Tin Cup (1996) - 7/10

This may actually be the first Rom-com to get reviewed for this, as well as the first sports movie. Is it the best version of either? Not really. But the combination works quite well. Lets jump into it.

1. Acting  

The main lead of the film is Kevin Costner who is pulling double duty as Roy McAvoy; he not only is the protagonist of the sports film side, but must also be half of a charming romantic story. Costner seems to handle it all very competently. As Roy he is a likable man-child type trope - someone who has never lived up to their potential and is stuck in the 'what could have been'. Costner does well to play Roy very superficially up front, while clearly reserving a more introspective person that is frustrated or ashamed that he can't overcome his own flaws. In a similar sense, the 'Tin Cup' part of Roy serves as a nice underdog tale within a sports film. He is someone who is very talented, but again is failing to overcome his self-imposed limitations towards being a professional golfer. I'll also give a quick shout out to Costner for taking the physical part of the role seriously as well. He worked extensively with gold pro Gary McCord to develop Roy's swing and learn the game. This meant that a great deal of the shots featured in the film were performed by Costner himself which lends authenticity to the sports aspects of the film.

Costner's foil in the endeavor is Dr. Molly Griswold played by Rene Russo. Russo manages to play an interesting, if not somewhat uneven, romantic interest for Roy. I say uneven because she is presented initially to the audience as an educated psychologist who is quick to analyze and resist Roy's charms. She appears to be someone who would be turned off by Roy's arrested development and you'd expect that he wouldn't 'get the girl' without growing up a bit. That's not to say Roy doesn't grow a bit throughout the story- but even he admits its not by much at the end of the film. In fact the pair get together somewhat early in the plot in order to make room for the more sports heavy finale which means she really just liked Roy despite his more juvenile tendencies all along. Point being, Russo does a good job selling the romantic plot line despite the writing somewhat undermining her potential character arc. 

Outside of the two leads, there are some great performances from the supporting cast. In particular, Cheech Marin steps outside of his usual shtick to play Roy's best friend Romeo. The two actors do a great job of selling to contentious but loving friendship between the characters and hint at a much deeper friendship then what appears on screen. Don Johnson also play a great 'villain' type of character as Roy's both golf and romantic rival. It's always a bit funny when the 'villain' character is arguably just the more mature part of a rivalry but Johnson manages to keep the character of David as a more grounded but ultimately likable dick.

2. Cinematography 

There isn't a ton that stood out to me, but the golf scenes are very well shot. Golf is not a very exciting sport so it requires a good eye and integration with the editing team in order to make it visually compelling. What golf does have in its favor though is tension. The sport mostly boils down to one person, all alone, hitting a single ball towards a small hole. The filmmakers were smart to lean into those moments when they could and use the tension to their advantage. 

3. Production/Costume Design 

This may not have been the strongest aspect of the film, but I think it was executed well. For example I like the choice to have Roy be the golf pro at a driving range that was essentially just dirt in the middle of the desert. It is a nice turn away from the classically green landscapes audiences would anticipate and highlights the 'place' that Roy is starting in, in terms of character arc. 

The costume department is also doing smart work in distinguishing their characters early on. For instance, when Roy and Molly first meet, we see Roy in a dirty white undershirt and Molly in a much cleaner and more proper outfit in order to highlight their characters and differences. 

4. Writing 

This type of fusion film can be hard to pull off sometimes - if you lean too much in one direction you may lose a large chunk of the audience. Similarly, you are doubling the amount of work you need to do. Not only must your romantic story line being enjoyable and sell the audience on a believable romance, but you also have to craft a compelling sports drama with a satisfying conclusion.  In this respect, Tin Cup really seems to succeed in its goal. Not only is the romance charming, but the underdog sports tale works very well. You end up rooting for Roy twice and he gets a crowd pleasing finish in both respects. 

With that said, by essentially making two movies and fusing it into one, the end result of each can be a bit thin in places. For example Molly's character feels a bit thin in comparison to Roy's. Her own character 'growth' feels more like a regression and benefits Roy more than herself (at least in terms of what we see on screen). In other words, she may be more object than character - just another thing that Roy gets to 'win'. 

The sports film within Tin Cup also can feel a bit thin. I mean if Roy was always good enough to not just be in, but lead a US Open, then how compelling is his golf journey? We could argue that his struggle was with himself, which is obviously a big theme of the movie, but the problem is he seems to have overcome that struggle with great ease. Like Roy says at the end of the film; "A man goes through what I've gone through, they're supposed to learn something. I'm trying to figure out what I learned" - a sentiment I share with the character. 

Nevertheless, the film definitely still works despite some of my pickier gripes. And one aspect I really loved was the subversion of the ending. The entire movie is building to Roy overcoming his demons, showing how much he has grown, and walking away with a US Open trophy. Instead, he collapses on the final hole with victory within his grasp as he regresses back into his own hubris and stubbornness. And with every shot he repeatedly takes and misses, the audience cringes harder and harder, struggling to watch the protagonist fall further and further. Then on his 12th shot of the hole, he nails the shot that every other pro was scared to take. Its a triumphant moment despite knowing that the 'hero' just epically lost his shot at winning. It is a wonderful choice and I think is a more realistic and satisfying conclusion to the overall story. Because even though people can change - the changes are usually minor. And even though a driving range pro might be able to make a run at a championship - would they really just immediately win the whole thing? Of course not. But at the end of the day Roy still gets the girl, gets a small taste of glory, and learns a little something along the way.

5. Sound Design 

The bluesy and Texas themed music of the soundtrack is a great fitting for the film and the limited use of more 'inspiring' score that overlies the finale lends poignancy to the movie's conclusion. It all works well without being hugely memorable within its own right.

6. Editing 

Sports editing can be tricky, and maybe moreso for a golf movie. Because it is a slow and methodical sport, the edit needs to keep the audience visually engaged and help build the tension within the scene. Therefore the strongest pieces of editing for Tin Cup come in the last 20 minutes or so during the Open and are very well done.

7. Visual Effects 

Nothing to note here. 

8. Originality or Strength of Adaptation

Ron Shelton, one of the main writers of the film, seems to have a knack for crafting unique sports tales. This film doesn't feel like its borrowing heavily from anything, but still fits nicely into it's two main genres. It also benefits from not being a direct adaptation of any particular real life athlete, but does borrow authentic stories from pros like Gary McCord who helped inspire both the 'pelican shot' scene as well the movies concluding duodecuple bogey.

9. Stunt Coordination 

Not much in the way of stunts, but again I will mention that Costner did a lot of the golf shots himself which is a nice touch for the film. 

10. Direction 

Writer/Director Ron Shelton does good work here bringing Tin Cup to life and creating a fine balance between romance and golf stories. 

Legacy/Final Thoughts

I had not heard of Tin Cup prior to this viewing, but had heard of Shelton's other forays into sports movies such as White Men Can't Jump and Bull Durham. For that reason this may be considered a 'lesser' work. Nevertheless, Tin Cup seems to carved out a nice place for itself amongst other famous golf movies like The Legend of Bagger Vance and the less serious Caddyshack and Happy Gilmore. I'm glad I stumbled upon it.