Underdog sports movies walk a fine line with clichés; romantic comedies walk a fine line with clichés. "Tin Cup" is both these things and walks the finest of the fine lines, and though it leans toward the cliché, it never completely loses its balance. Its likable swagger behind star Kevin Costner -- a similar swagger to that of "Bull Durham," also directed by Ron Shelton -- is what makes it one of the more memorable fault-filled sports movies.

Like the previous (and slightly better) Costner-Shelton collaboration of "Durham," this film is a romantic sports comedy about a trashy/washed-up athlete who wastes a lot of talent and somehow manages to attract sexual attention.

Costner stars as West Texan Roy McAvoy, referred to sometimes as 'Tin Cup,' a talented college golfer who somehow ended up a golf pro at a downtrodden driving range with his amigo Romeo (Cheech Marin) while his college teammate David Simms (Don Johnson) went on to be a star. Roy is a betting man who goes with his gut, ignores reason and uses golf metaphors to make sense of life. When an anal retentive psychiatrist named Molly (Rene Russo) shows up at his range for lessons, Roy is smitten, only to find she's with Simms. Of course the only way to win her over is to try and make the U.S. Open, right?

Costner and Russo have forced character chemistry. There's no reason for either of them to be interested in each other, save that Roy wants a challenge compared to the white trash women he's interested in. There's certainly no reason for Molly to leave her tournament- winning boyfriend for a sleazeball. And you know it's true when the dialogue directly addresses why they fell for the other like it's justification or something.

The machismo fueling Roy and his buddies in the movie, constantly betting each other and insulting the other when he lays up and plays it safe is childish, but it brings the film its humor and keeps it from being a straight through underdog movie. Its more interested in its characters than building up plot suspense, which is a good thing, if only the characters behaved in realistic ways.

"Tin Cup" is a giant golf metaphor for life, about how taking risks -- no matter how many times you fail -- is always worth it. Shelton's film is gutsy in the same way, finding different ways of telling a sports story that will make it feel different. It goes about it in an amateur way, but it's the bravado that it will be remembered for. Shelton's films have this miraculous tendency to only let their best parts stick with you. They're the kinds of movies that make for great channel-surfing finds on TV. That's really what "Tin Cup" is.

~Steven C

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Talented but unlucky golfer, Roy McAvoy (Kevin Costner) pursues glamorous therapist, Dr Molly Griswold (Rene Russo). Even though it's a Costner movie, it's actually a decent, surprisingly well-observed romantic comedy

The American Dream is brought nicely down to earth in this gentle comedy drama. Costner plays Roy McAvoy, an underachieving golf-whizz living in a small Texan town, who falls for Molly (Russo), the girlfriend of his arch rival David Simms (Don Johnson). Luckily for him, she agrees to sleep with him after he chips a ball from the clubhouse carpet and hits a pelican sitting outside. Molly gives Roy a good soul-searching pep talk and it isn't long before he's back playing professionally - and, before you know it, swinging his sticks in the US Open.

Tin Cup's big surprise is the film's unconventional ending, allowing us to forgive director Ron Shelton's clumsy, problematic dramatic structure and odd fascination with capturing Costner's highlighted mullet.

The dialogue and characters are convincing and intelligently developed. Russo wears vulnerability and neediness like a second skin, while Costner plays the tragic hero with considerable charm.

There are three reasons to watch this movie: Rene Russo, Cheech Marin, and Don Johnson. The rest of it is a waste of time. Kevin Costner's character, the protagonist, is a jerk from beginning to end. He never changes, he never learns anything, he is a total loser. I don't know whether to blame the script writer, the director, or Costner, but it doesn't really matter. The main character is entirely unsympathetic. Marin has some great lines, and he delivers them beautifully. Russo is sexy and plays her part perfectly. Johnson's performance is excellent, except for the one scene in which the director or scrip writer or someone decided that he needed to play completely out of character in order to make him the villain. It even appeared that he was embarrassed to have to do that scene, since it was totally inconsistent with the rest of his role. I will watch the film again, but just to enjoy watching Russo, Marin, and Johnson.