BEFORE: Again, I'm playing with a handicap tonight, which is a distinct lack of golf knowledge. Most of what I do know probably comes from "Caddyshack", anyway. Well, at least I don't let it slow me down. In another act of what I'm calling diving providence, today is the first day of the PGA Championship, and I did not know that in advance. I realize the film depicts the U.S. Open, which is a different tournament, but still, I'll take it. (I suppose it's not really that much of a confluence, since the golf season runs what, 9 months out of the year and there's always one tournament or another starting every Thursday...)
Linking from "The Legend of Bagger Vance", Bruce McGill was also in "A Perfect World" with Kevin Costner (last seen in "Man of Steel").
THE PLOT: A washed up golf pro working at a driving range tries to qualify for the US Open in order to win the heart of his succesful rival's girlfriend.
AFTER: It's unfortunate that Hollywood can't seem to make a sports movie that doesn't rely on cliché and coincidence. Even the ones I like the best, like, say "Major League", fall back on some very overused stereotypes - the young, wild pitcher, the grizzled veteran, the even more grizzled coach, and the bitchy team owner. And what are the chances that the team that the Indians have the most trouble playing against, the Yankees, will turn out to be the ones they need to beat to win the pennant? Oh, probably about 100 percent.
For the most part, this film relies on many of the same broad strokes in its portrayal of a washed-up former golf pro, and the love triangle he gets into with a beautiful therapist, who's dating his former (and future) golf rival. Now, what do you suppose the odds are they'll be the last two players contending in the last tournament in the film, and the game will come down to the last hole?
It seems like a real timesaver - why watch every sports film when you can just watch one? What were the odds that Rocky Balboa would have to face the boxer who killed his best friend? Even if that's not the way sports works, that's how movies tend to work. What about the rivalries "The Karate Kid", "Run Fatboy Run", or countless others? Most sports don't have clear heroes and villains, but movies need to.
Ah, but sometimes, in the middle of all those stereotypes and forced rivalries, there are sometimes moments that rise above. Like Tom Berenger's character "calling his shot" near the end of "Major League" - or Daniel-San doing that crane-kick, if you can ignore that he totally telegraphed that move, and the villain decided to attack him face-first and walk right into it.
In a way, that's what we get at the end of "Tin Cup" - an 18th hole so unbelievable that you (and the golf-watching nation) can't believe what they're seeing. It may not come from a great and pure place, if anything it comes from the lead character's stubbornness and self-destructive tendencies, but it's an occurence that transcends the situation and would gain everyone's attention, if it were to really happen. If it were a NASCAR race, it would be like someone's car crossing the finish line while upside-down and on fire. Win or lose, it would make the highlight reel.
Does that make the whole film great? Unfortunately, no. There's no reason the film had to be over two hours long, and most of the characters are very underdeveloped. Why does Mr. Tin Cup need an entourage of 8 hangers-on, when most of them don't even have dialogue? The movie would have worked just as well with 4 non-distinct losers who have nothing to say.
Plus, I'm unclear on the specifics regarding why the love interest chooses one golfer over the other - they're pretty evenly matched in ability, there's just a slight difference in attitude. OK, so one is a little more arrogant than the other - he's a pro athlete, doesn't that sort of come with the job? I get that she eventually realizes she's more attracted to one than the other, but WHY?
Also starring Rene Russo (last seen in "Outbreak"), Don Johnson (last seen in "Guilty As Sin"), Cheech Marin (last heard in "Hoodwinked Too!"), Rex Linn (last seen in "The Long Kiss Goodnight"), Lou Myers (last seen in "It's Kind of a Funny Story"), Dennis Burkley, Mickey Jones, with cameos from Phil Mickelson, Jim Nantz, Fred Couples, and a bunch of other golfers and commentators I didn't recognize.
RATING: 6 out of 10 water hazards
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