Linking Up on the Links: “Tin Cup”

When it comes to golf, Idon’t know a birdie from a bogey. So a movie that’s all about golf should not speakto me. Still, I was a big fan of Ron Shelton’s baseball-related directorialdebut, Bull Durham (1988). Four years later, Shelton made playgroundbasketball sexy in White Men Can’t Jump. So I was curious to see what hecould do on the golf links, especially since Tin Cup (1996) reunited himwith the star of Bull Durham, Kevin Costner.

 I’m not always a KevinCostner enthusiast, especially in films that require him to be solemn andheroic. (See, for instance, Dances with Wolves.) In Tin Cup he’squite the opposite: something of a grifter who just happens to have remarkablegolf skills, but is too much in love with crazy bets and show-offy gambles tomake a real career out of a sport he loves. Shelton describes his Roy “Tin Cup”McAvoy as a archetypal American hustler-conman-loser who has a gift forself-destruction. To my surprise, he reminded me a great deal of Jimmy McGill,Bob Odenkirk’s talented but sleazy lawyer in the TV series, Better CallSaul. (The two men even have a similar look: clean-cut but diabolical.) Thefilm ends up with Roy in a position to win—to everyone’s astonishment—the U.S.Open, but the outcome is not what you might expect.

 Following some success on hiscollege golf team, Roy has made a life for himself running a driving-range inan out-of-the-way desert spot called Salome, Texas, where the greens are hardlygreen, and armadillos are an occasional hazard on the course. (The movie openswith a series of colorful roadside signs including this one: “Last chance tohit golf balls fore 520 miles.”) Not much concerned about money, Roy hangs outwith a scruffy group of golf buddies, drinking beers, making creative wagers,and giving the occasional golf lesson to a newbie. Such a one is Dr. MollyGriswold (Rene Russo), a feisty and attractive clinical psychologist who showsup with hundreds of dollars’ worth of questionable golf gear. She’s datingRoy’s college nemesis, David Simms (Don Johnson), now a star professionalgolfer who holds charity tournaments and never misses a chance to needle Royabout his less than stellar accomplishments on the links. Naturally, Roy andMolly can’t fight their growing attraction, especially when she discovers (natch!)that big-hearted, charitable David is really a jerk behind the scenes.

 Though I delighted in Roy’sdevil-may-care personality, Dr. Molly didn’t work for me. Yes, she has colorfulmoments, but the character seems less a reflection of true human behavior thana construct by a screenwriter looking to find an original take on his leadinglady. Her backstory is a  jumble ofromance with an Amarillo cowboy, years selling real estate, and suddenly anewly-minted psychotherapy degree. Frankly, it just doesn’t wash, though theromantic capitulation, when it comes, is jolly good fun, even while it leavesRoy’s caddy/guru/best friend out in the rain for a very long time.

 Thatbest friend is played by Cheech Marin, best known for his drug-friendly comedyroutines with partner Tommy Chong. His role as Romeo Posar gives him theopportunity to be wise, to be funny, even to sing and to dance in sexy stylewith Roy’s ex-girlfriend, a bodacious stripper. I would be remiss in notmentioning Cheech’s off-screen passion for collecting Chicano art. He boaststhe largest such collection in the world, and in 2022 joined with the city ofRiverside, California to open The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art, Culture& Industry.