‘If I had it to do all over again, I’d still hit that shot…’
Tin Cup was always gonna be a homerun. Or rather a hole in one. Ron Shelton’s golf fable has it all. An underdog story. Set in the ’90s. Big Kev Costner’s rugged good looks. Comic relief. Don Johnson as a slimy golf pro that hates children, old people and dogs. It’s a whole load of wonderful nonsense…
Roy ‘Tin Cup’ McAvoy is a washed up golf pro scraping a living through his driving range and the delivery of golf lessons. The arrival of Molly Griswold (Rene Russo), changes McAvoy’s outlook leading to a spot at the US Open where he will come up against his old sparring partner David Simms (Don Johnson).
Now this no different from any other sports movie, let’s say that right off the bat. This is Karate Kid, it’s Mighty Ducks, it’s even Rocky. Tin Cup is not the kind of film to leave its audience guessing (not until the very end at least). There are certain beats that we know Costner and his cast are gonna hit. The characters are drawn with broad but loving strokes, the script is competent if familiar, and the acting feels very 1996. None of these are criticisms. This is what I came for.
Having said that, if you removed Kevin Costner from this cast, this movie would really struggle. He was born to play these kinds of roles and he makes this one look easy, single handedly carrying Tin Cup throughout its far too long 2hr 15min running time. He elevates all those around him drawing a restrained performance from Cheech Marin, a heartwarming turn from Russo and a wonderfully vindictive showing from Miami Vice‘s Don Johnson. Together, they produce a film that is very of its time, but a film that is also entertaining, compelling, and by the end, properly captivating. King Kev shines yet again.