Kevin Costner plays Roy McAvoy, and ex-golf pro who runs a driving range in the middle of nowhere (520 miles from anything, to be exact). The film opens with a horrible song, which is followed by a goofy country soundtrack that was, unfortunately, written for the movie. Why is it that music that was written specifically for a movie is never any good? There are exceptions, of course, but none of them can be found in Tin Cup. However, despite the sub-par soundtrack (no pun intended),this is a surprisingly satisfying film.

(spoilers) It's not about the game in Tin Cup, which is good, because that would have ruined the movie. There is a delightfully rich relationship between Roy and Molly Griswold (Renee Russo),who is in an unhappy relationship and becomes the love interest for Roy in the film. Molly has problems of her own that parallel Roy's own struggle with his life as well as his golf swing. She is a psychologist, but she gets hurt a lot. She can always tell when people are lying to themselves, but can't seem to tell when people are lying to her. Roy spends the majority of the film trying to get her to leave an unworthy boyfriend who, of course, turns out to be a total dick, and continually makes awkward advances of his own. Many of his amorous advances resemble something confused and totally wrong that you might expect from someone like Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver. Roy just doesn't understand women, and Molly doesn't seem to know what she wants in a man.

Cheech Marin rounds out the cast in a fairly serious role that strongly contradicts his traditional roles, and he pulls it off surprisingly well. He is Roy's close friend and ultimately his caddy in the U.S. Open, in which Roy plays as sort of the thinking man's Happy Gilmore. It seems that his infatuation with Molly has caused him to lose much of his skill (`the shanks,' I believe it was called),and he tries just about everything to get his swing back. He uses all of those ridiculous infomercial devices that he made fun of Molly for using earlier in the film, and even attempts some witch doctor-like stuff, like getting drunk and playing hung over. Oops.

There is very heavy emphasis on the meaning of the golf in the movie, rather than the golf itself. It is made clear in many different scenes that winning or losing or even playing golf are not the things that should be focused on when watching this movie. It is the way that golf is used as a metaphor for life that is important. There is a part in the movie where Roy breaks a golf record, but he still gets no respect afterward, because he had yet to change as a person. Merely beating a record because you took less shots is meaningless – what's important is what you learn or how you change as a result. Even more importantly, near then end of the film, Roy takes shot after shot at the final hole, dropping all after ball into the lake, but he keeps taking the shot, rather than attempting to make it to the green safely with more than one shot. When he keeps telling Cheech to give him another ball, it becomes very clear that winning the tournament has become secondary to him. He has set a goal for himself, and even though he knows that it will cost him the tournament, he still seeks that goal.

Notice how when he finally does make that shot, he is way above par, but he still gets a huge response from the crowd. Tin Cup has a sort of Rocky-style ending, in which Roy loses the tournament, but he still wins his conflict with himself. Besides that, the movie doesn't leave us with the feeling that we are seeing a temporary high point that will likely be followed someday with the same troubles that were overcome in the film, which is something that even great movies like As Good As It Gets are guilty of. Roy has not made the most tremendous achievement possible, because he did lose the tournament, but he has also managed to qualify for the U.S. Open tournament for the following year. He lost the golf game, but he has made a significant accomplishment in his life that is especially clear when you compare his character from the beginning of the film to that at the end of the film. Character development is one of the most important things about meaningful film, and it is one of the strong points in Tin Cup. Don't watch it for the golf, watch it for the well-written script, the great acting, and most importantly, for the valuable lesson that can be learned from it as a perspective on life.

Directed by Ron Shelton and starring Kevin Costner, Rene Russo and Don Johnson, Tin Cup is the golf rom-com sports movie that even none golf fans (me) can enjoy. Costner is a washed up ex pro golfer who upon happening upon Russo's - eager to please her golfer boyfriend (Johnson) - psychiatrist, finds a new lease of life for the sport and for potential romance. But first he has to deal with the cocky nemesis that is Johnson's star laden showy golfer.

The sports based movie is a tough nut to crack, the margins for narrative worth are thin, there's only so much one can take such a genre to. Here we have one of the staples of said genre, that of a washed up sportsman getting a second shot at glory. It really should have been a bore to rival that of the sport in reality (sorry golfers, I just don't get it),yet Shelton, backed by superb lead actors, creates a thoroughly charming, exciting and thoughtful sports rom-com.

The characterisations are white hot, people you can easily root for, or in the case of Johnson's David Simms, boo and hiss at. It is testament to the director and writers (Shelton and John Norville) that these characters manage to rise above stereotype status, and crucially they are given sharp dialogue to spout. The sport of golf isn't the crux of the matter here, it really is the characters and how they adapt to the changing of basic human emotions that drives this pic forward.

Some famous golfers of the time make appearances, rewardingly so, while the always ace Cheech Marin gets a part he can nail with aplomb. You haven't got to love golf or sports movies in general for this one, it really is just a crowd pleasing delight. 8/10

Roy 'Tin cup' McAvoy (Kevin Costner) is a washed up golf pro living at his run down driving range with his sidekick caddy Romeo (Cheech Marin) in desolate west Texas shooting the breeze with the boys. Then psychiatrist Dr. Molly Griswold (Rene Russo) shows up needing a lesson. It turns out that she's the girlfriend of Roy's slick former University of Houston teammate now golfing star David Simms (Don Johnson). Simms invites McAvoy to his tournament, not to play but to caddy. Then a bet develops with the players that Roy could make a shot on National TV and Simms fires him. He owes Doreen $12k and gives her the deed to his driving range. He even loses his car to Simm in a bet. Roy decides to qualify for the US Open and be Molly's patient.

This movie works so well. The trio have so much chemistry that they have an unbeatable charm in this movie. It's partly due to writer/director Ron Shelton, but it has so much due to his reunion with Costner. Like Bull Durham, it is about the characters as much as it is about the game. It is adorable when Roy confesses his love to Molly in their session. It is just a very well made rom-com with great characters with a great golf ending.