Episode 9 - Tin Cup

Aaron and Steve discuss the 1996 romantic comedy/golf movie, Tin Cup. Roy McAvoy (Kevin Costner) is a former golf prodigy who now spends his time as a golf pro at a run-down driving range in West Texas. Content to aimlessly hit balls on the range, conduct the occasional golf lesson and drink each night with his local crew, his life changes when a new student revives his spark for the game. The new student, Dr. Molly Giswold (Rene Russo), happens to be the new girlfriend of his lifelong golf rival David Simms (Don Johnson.) Through personal and professional humiliations by Simms, Roy sets out on a mission to win the U.S. Open golf tournament and win the good Doctor’s heart in the process.

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Where to start with Tin Cup....

For those out there that want a great golf movie, this could be it. For those out there who want a good romantic comedy, you will be sadly disappointed. The back half of this movie is a great 1.5hr golf movie. However, as a whole, it is over two hours of a group trying to recapture the magic of Bull Durham, but with golf instead of baseball.

Ron Shelton, writer and director of Bull Durham, brought back Kevin Costner in a role that he fit pretty perfectly in, as an aged golfer who never really made it as a pro. He succeeded on the sports side of that gamble, however he was not able to recreate the chemistry that Costner had with Susan Sarandon in Bull Durham. Renee Russo in Tin Cup is out of place in pretty much every scene she is in and does not seem to sync with Costner the way Sarandon did.

On the fairways though, this film is great. The relationship between golfer and caddy (Cosnter and Cheech Marin's Romeo) is solid and keeps the movie moving forward. Romeo knows Roy and his game better than he does. Overall, it is the better love story of the movie.

The cooperation with the filmmakers and the PGA works well also. So many Golf Greats from the mid-90's are on screen, with many having small speaking parts.

Our Cinema Decon Hall of Fame Inductee from Tin Cup is Kevin Costner, who was really the only choice from this film. His soliloquy about What Is The Golf Swing by Roy McAvoy cemented his place in those hallowed halls.

From a rankings perspective, our composite score is 6.33, which places it just below Coneheads, but slightly above Hackers. A decent film, however not one of the greats.

Do you agree with our review of Tin Cup? Let us know on our social media outlets, or post a rebuttal in The Forum.