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From an acting standpoint, "Tin Cup" may be Kevin Costner's best movie. Here he plays Roy McAvoy, a burned-out, washed-out, down-n-out golf pro a way out in West Texas. He's broke, drunk most of the time, and convinced of his own worthlessness -- hence his attraction to poetry and a puffed-up opinion of his own heroics on the golf course (he's got to have something hold on to). Roy is just this side of being a complete bum -- this is one of the few movies I've seen on any subject that actually addresses the financial condition of its loose-living hero.

"Tin Cup" is all about the dire straits of this character, and Costner is more than up to the challenge of playing this guy convincingly. Costner for once packs everything into his performance: charm, wit, sarcasm, hopelessness, bitterness, and more than a little arrogance. He is funny, laidback and shows remarkable athletic skill. He tops his career-best work in "Bull Durham" here (not surprising, since this is another Ron Shelton film).

The movie also works great as a classic heroic Quest story. McAvoy is on a mythic quest, not for the perfect 18 holes, certainly not for money, but for love. "Tin Cup" could easily have been titled "Quixote Jousts at Windmills in West Texas." Best of all, McAvoy KNOWS he's on a quest; when he refers to it in his dialogue, it sounds pathtically funny, but when you hold this story up to the ancient pattern of the heroic quest as described by Joseph Campbell, it really rings true.

Probably the most interesting aspect of "Tin Cup" is that it also works as a metaphor for what Costner has done with his career. Here's a guy who could have played it safe and easy after all those Oscars, but took off on crazy flights of fancy like "Waterworld" and lost badly. (He continued to play unsafe shots after 1996, with almost every movie that followed this one.) McAvoy plays the game his way, on a dare, on a bet, with outrageous egotism and a willingness to lose it all -- publicly. That's what Costner has done at his own game. Was "Open Range" the dreaded safe shot that corrected his course?

If somebody watches Tin Cup and does not find this movie a "must-see", it might be either because you don't know golf, or because you take life too easy. This film is nothing but irresistible. It combines those tiny-little-moments that we golfers must face every time we are in the golf course (yes, we may not be facing the US Open title, but golf gives us a chance to know ourselves every time we hit the ball: Do I play safe or do I take chances? Am I a winner, or am I a loser? Do I have nerves, or do I simply breakdown?). Tin Cup goes insight all of that, and it shows it to us, in such a simple form through the eyes and life of Roy McAvoy and his buddies, that at the end you find yourself with nothing but the urge to rent it again. Forget for a while about the romance and the girl, if so you want, but don't deny that the songs, the views, and the dialogue are superb. See it as a great sport movie, with a clear lesson to all of us: In life as in Golf, it is you who make that final call. A good call means success; a bad one, well I guess you know where the rest goes.

"Tin Cup" is a unique experience, in that after viewing this movie, you won't automatically compare it to any other film ... there isn't another one like it.

It wrote in another review that all sports films contains many clichés. Well, I have to contradict myself in describing this film about golf. It starts many clichés, and then breaks them in half, sometimes literally! LOL Funny, charming, romantic, and defiant, Tin Cup gives you a bit of everything ... even a realistic ending but with a crumb thrown to the future at the same time.

And the phrase "Tin Cup" made its way into sports talk for an event where a golfer REALLY screws up on a hole, especially if from stubbornness.

Kevin Costner is, as IMDB says, the washed-up golfer giving lessons to greenhorns in the back end of nowhere. Into his life comes a therapist of sorts, played by Rene Russo, looking for golf lessons. She's all head and he's all heart. That being the case, simplistic though it sounds, she tells him he should follow his heart and trust himself when making decisions. Then he asks her out. Oops.

She's involved with an old rival of his, a successful golfer, played by Don Johnson. Tin Cup (Costner) evidently ruined his chances, years back, on account of a perverse stubborn streak. When he gets in that mood there's no talking to him. Russo isn't biting so Tin decides to try and qualify for the top tournament, the US Open, to impress her. He knows he's the right man for her, and that Don is only posing as the right man.

Know thyself. The most ancient wisdom. Accepting oneself, that's another matter. Tin actually seems pretty laid back for a washed up golfer, a might-have-been. But hey, whatevs.

This isn't a po-faced sports drama, it's a sports comedy, a sports romantic comedy. It basically ends with something that has become the bane of all out existence, a publicity stunt to secure fame. Cup sure has courage, even if he lacks sense.

A feel-good golf movie. Not an eagle but definitely a birdie.

Kevin Costner (Dances with Wolves, The Untouchables) is a great actor, in my opinion, but most critics and some people don't like him because he takes too many "hero" roles. For those people, Tin Cup is a movie you will like, for those who like Costner, you will love this film. Cosnter plays a local star golfer in Texas who runs a driving range that isn't doing well. He's a good golfer, but because of some poor decisions never turned professional. He has a lazy life goofing around with his friends and caddy, wonderfully played by Cheech Marin (Paulie, From Dusk Til Dawn). One day when a beautiful psychiatrist, played by Rene Russo (Ransom, Major League), comes in to take lessons from him, he decides to go after her. The problem is that she isn't grungy and lazy like he is and she's dating a professional golfer who went to college with Costner. He is well-played by Don Johnson (Dead Bang, Guilty as Sin). Costner and Johnson hate each other and soon get into competitions to impress Russo. Eventually, Costner decides to impress her he'll try and qualify for the US Open golf tournament. This is a very funny film and was not a "chick-flick" like I was worried it would be. Costner is excellent in the lead playing a completely likable slob. Russo is solid as his love interest. Highly recommended.