TIN CUP. Directed by Ron Shelton; written by John Norville and Ron Shelton; produced by Gary Foster and David Lester for Warner Bros. Starring Kevin Costner, Rene Russo, Cheech Marin and Don Johnson. Rated R (language, sexual references, one sex scene)
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Tincup is a movie that does the impossible. For a limited time, at least, it makes golf not only interesting, but exciting!
Writer/director Shelton admits that people are either obsessed with golf or think it's the stupidest game ever invented.
Now I wouldn't go that far (I mean, there's a lot of competition for that "stupidest" title—curling*, for one thing, comes to mind, and pursuit cycling) but you should know that I've always thought watching golf was one of the two or three most boring things to do with your time.
But the golf in Tincup is exciting and fun to watch. Now, it doesn't do golf's image any good when the reason it's fun and exciting is that Roy (Costner) is a very un-typical golfer. But I don't think golf obsessives will mind his crazy take on the game. And moviegoers like me, who feel the other way about the sport, will be surprisingly entertained by it.
Roy's problem is that he never plays it safe on the golf course, considering it a point of honor always to try for the great shot instead of settling for par. Where this attitude gets him is running a seedy driving range in west Texas instead of touring with the pros. He has the raw talent, but not the discipline, to succeed in the big time.
That is, until he meets psychologist Molly (Russo) and falls for her. Trouble is, she's already dating Roy's old rival David (Johnson) who's a successful touring pro. How can Roy convince her that he's really not the sorry loser that he appears? Well, he could beat her boyfriend at the U.S. Open, that's how.
Costner's performance is so convincing and appealing that his outlandish golf "comeback" is not all that unbelievable. Some aspects of Molly's character (how did such a sophisticated shrink end up in dead-end Salome, Texas? for one thing) are a little less convincing. And David is just a bit too much of a set-up, being everything, good and bad, that Roy is not.
But Russo brings more to her role than just a love interest; she's quite an entertaining comedienne. Johnson is good as the one-dimensional rival. And Marin almost steals the show as Roy's caddy/confidante.
I know it would get boring for him, but I wish Costner would play this kind of seriously flawed, yet amusing and endearing jock (as in Bull Durham and even the early Fandango) more often. He's awfully good at it. Maybe he and Shelton should take up curling next.
September 18, 1996
* [Hindsight note: I really regret these anti-curling remarks now. After the 2006 Winter Olympics, I'm a fan! It's much more interesting than golf. 
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