"Tin Cup"

by Leslie Rigoulot

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Watching Kevin Costner's "Tin Cup' makes me appreciate "Happy Gilmore" for the golf comedy that it is. At two hours and eleven minutes, this is too much golf, too much smirk, too much cute. Kevin Costner is Tin Cup, a talented golfer whose temper keeps him out of the big time. (Wasn't that Happy's problem?) He is egged on by rival Don Johnson. (Didn't Happy have a rival golfer?) And Costner is aided by a goofy friend, Cheech Marin . (Wasn't Happy's buddy a one- handed golfer?) But they are totally different because Happy was trying to win to save his Granny's house from the IRS and Costner is trying to win to impress the lovely psychologist, Rene Russo. And they are totally different because Costner is a lot better looking than Adam Sandler. But then Sandler's movie was funny and Costner's is merely amusing.

Yeah, we were all expecting another "Bull Durham" from it's director, Ron Shelton. And we all know that Costner could use a hit after "Waterworld" and "Wyatt Earpp" and "The War" and "A Perfect World". It must be a little hard to take when co-star Rene Russo is coming out of the hit "Get Shorty". Don Johnson and Cheech Marin have a hit TV show, "Nash Bridges". But who cares if pro golfers Peter Jacobsen and Craig Stadler make their acting debuts? And frankly, the problem is that we don't care about Tin Cup. Whether or not he gets the title or gets the girl is really of no concern. Ron Shelton and John Norville put together a script that allows everyone plenty of time on the green but lacks sophistication or the ability to involve the audience. At least the cast and crew got to play plenty of golf. If you are a golfer, you'll have a better time out on the links than in the movie theater with "Tin Cup". Rated R, for adult situations and language.