Plot: What’s it about?
When Kevin Coster makes a movie about sports, odds are that it will be good. With Bull Durham, Costner and Director Ron Shelton cemented a place in the minds of baseball fans everywhere what baseball was all about…well, minor league baseball anyway. His follow-up, Field of Dreams was another hit both commercially and critically as well, teaming with Director Phil Alden Robinson. So the question was this…could Costner come back from a movie like “Waterworld”, with all it’s hype and hoopla, starring as a low-key driving range pro who goes by the name of “Tin Cup”. Well, evidently the answer was yes, as Tin Cup became one of the suprising hits of the Summer of 1996. Costner is a very competitive natural athlete, and it was only a matter of time that he did for baseball would be done for golf. Featuring an ensemble cast that includes Rene Russo, Don Johnson and Cheech Martin; Tin Cup combines the addictiveness of golf intertwined with the love story that made Bull Durham so fun to watch.
Roy McAvoy (Kevin Costner) is an ex-College golf player who has now made his very comfortable life in Salome, Texas. He runs a driving range out in the middle of nowhere with friend and business partner, Romeo (Cheech Marin). Now the phrase “comfortable life” means that it’s the way they like it, they’re not by any means…rich. Drinking beer, hitting golf balls, betting on bugs hitting the “bug zapper” is all a way of life for Roy and all of his friends who live viacariously through him. Everything’s fine, except Roy constantly has to live with the supposed shame that his college roomate and golf partner, David Sims is now one of the leading money winners on the PGA tour. And it just so happens that Sims comes knocking and asks for Roy (Tin Cup) McAvoy’s help…Roy is a great golfer, but what always kept him down is the fact that his temper took control. Bucking the odds, he would always attempt the “impossible shot” as opposed to play it safe and win the tournament. While professionally this is Roy’s downfall, it’s also what keeps him in check. It also so happens that a local Dr. Molly Griswold (Rene Russo) is interested in appeasing her boyfriend and decides to take golf lessons from Roy. Now as coincidence would have it, Molly is dating David…
Convinced that the only way he can win Molly’s heart is to become a PGA tour pro, he decides to set his hopes on entering and winning the U.S. Open. The U.S. Open is just that…it’s an open tournament. Anyone with a 2 handicap or under can try and qualify for one of the coveted four major tournaments of the year. Roy decides that if he can spiffy up his image, join the tour that it’s then that she’ll see the light and leave David for him. So all is set, we see that Roy has finally made enough money to get his golf clubs back from the pawn shop (long story…) and is all set to enter the qualifying rounds to try and get in the U.S. Open. As Roy spends more and more time with Molly, he sees that he wants her more and more, though his patience is wearing thin as she is still with David…If you’re a fan of golf, then there is absolutely no reason not to like this movie. Featuring several PGA players and even a few lines by Craig “The Walrus” Stadler, Tin Cup is a real treat to watch. Aside from the fact that it has a “sports” edge for the guys, it’s also a very interesting romantic comedy, which Russo is good at. All in all, Tin Cup has all the right elements that make it a favorite to watch over and over.
Video: How does it look?
One of the first DVD’s to come out, this is presented in it’s original 2.35:1 aspect ratio and is anamorphically enhanced. As was common with the earlier releases, this also has a full-frame side that looks halfway decent as well. Colors are bright and vivid, and you can bet that there’s a LOT of green in this movie. Fleshtones look natural and black levels are right on target. Being a new transfer, even back then, the image doesn’t suffer from any pixelation, artifacting of compression artifacts. Quite simply, this is a great picture that looks outstanding on any TV.
Audio: How does it sound?
Of course, Tin Cup is not a movie for audio, but there are a few moments which the audio takes control and won’t let go. The dialogue is clear and well-centered, while the front surrounds take most of the action and make it very listenable. At several points towards the end, the LFE channels take over to try and make the U.S. Open sound more intimidating…it works. On the whole, the opening sequence with the song “A Little Bit is Better than Nada…” sounds very good, and overall it’s a great-sounding track.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Unless you count production notes (and I don’t) this disc has no features. Hopefully it will be released as a Special Edition in the future and have some supplements, but until then…it’s just this.
