TIN CUP
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1996 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule: Good dialogue can compensate for a
multitude of other sins. Here the sins include a fairly
predictable and banal plot and some rather obvious
manipulation of the audience. Much of this has been
done before, particularly in BULL DURHAM or ROCKY. The
real surprise is a restrained performance that becomes
one of the best ever for Cheech Marin. The words and
the photography are what makes the film. Rating: +1 (-4
to +4)
Voltaire said "Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien." Literally it means "the best is the enemy of the good." That is just what has kept Roy "Tin Cup" McAvoy (Kevin Costner) from being a top ranking golfer. He has to try for the best shot, the dangerous one rather than looking not quite so good. He usually misses it, but at least he tried for the shot that everybody would remember. So instead of a well-known golf pro, he runs a second-rate driving range in Salome, Texas. It is not a great living but in a tiny West Texas town like Salome, where the armadillos outnumber the golfers by hundreds to one, it is amazing he can even survive. Even stranger is that the small town supports a psychiatrist, Dr. Molly Griswold (Rene Russo) and that each has never heard of the other until Griswold shows up a the driving range wanting lessons. McAvoy is attracted to Griswold but she is already attached to someone. The plot thickens when an old friend, now a rival and a top golf pro, David Simms (Don Johnson) turns up and wants McAvoy to caddie for him in a golf tourney. Needing the money McAvoy takes the job, but get himself fired in a grandstand play when Simms goes for a conservative shot at the tourney. McAvoy decides to go for another big one and make a play for Griswold, only to find out her boyfriend is Simms. From there you could plot out the rest of the film and with only a small surprise here and there you would probably be right. (Think of it as ROCKY with a different sport and cast with prettier- looking actors.)
What makes TIN CUP watchable are the characters and the dialog. These are bright people and their small talk as the plot plays itself out is more of interest than the plot itself. McAvoy and Griswold are likable people as are the circle of people who orbit around them. First and foremost of the friends is Romeo Posar, as the most interesting an amiable character that Cheech Marin has ever played. The role was likely written for someone of a milder character to have a little fun hamming it up. Instead Marin plays the role as restrained as anybody he has ever played, so that is not the comic bits that surprise us but the moments of warmth and sincerity. Another close friend is a stripper and ex-girlfriend to whom McAvoy owes money. Making her a stripper seems like it was a calculated move. At 42 Ms. Russo probably prefers to show considerably less flesh than say, Susan Sarandon did in a previous film by director Ron Shelton, BULL DURHAM. The story asks if this old, but still talented, failure McAvoy can make something of himself on the golfing advice of his caddie and the pop psychology of his girlfriend without alienating either too much.
Ron Shelton's films seem to be falling into a pattern of sports, a bit of sex, a large dollop of comedy, some well-drawn characters, and good dialog. His films are thin on plot and give the audience little to chew on after the film is over, but they are audience pleasers and at least the audience when I saw the film were applauding at times. Considering that golf is a gave that even its most ardent fans usually give only polite hand-clapping, getting a film audience so involved in a golf film is no small feat. With the exceptions of Costner's slight grunge edge, the characters are pretty and pretty bland. Johnson actually is the most believable as the blandest of all. I think that the film also sported some golf champions who would have been familiar to some of the audience, though I would not have recognized them if they were two feet away. Some familiar brand names also show up on things like golf caps and even a blimp and they too are playing themselves.
TIN CUP will not leave you with much to think about other than a person's reach should exceed his grasp. This is a pleasant enough throwaway film you will not remember in the fall. Rate it a +1 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
mleeper@lucent.com
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