The Ending Of Tin Cup Is Both Infuriating Yet Honest
Moviestore. Shutterstock Images.(This blog contains Tin Cup spoilers. I know it's an old movie and the headline makes that clear but if I don't put a disclaimer, people get upset and I feel bad that I ruined the movie for them.)
For the first 80% of Tin Cup, it's a pretty chill watch. It's just hanging out with guys (led by a likable fuckup named Roy McAvoy played by Kevin Costner). I compare the tone a little bit to Air. It's not a stupid movie at all but it's a pretty relaxing watch. There are stakes in both movies and Air is probably a little more intense. But the general feel of the movie is a calm pace throughout with people that are enjoyable to be around.
Writer/Director Ron Shelton does a nice job early on showing us how self-destructive McAvoy is. He is in a tournament and is not listening to his caddy (Cheech Marin) and starts snapping all of his golf clubs in half. It's an effective scene because you see how McAvoy's behavior not only effects him but the people who care about him too.
Watching McAvoy lose the US Open is rough though. Seeing him drop the ball over and over and keep trying and keep getting angrier is…something. I can't call it entertaining because it was a painful watch. I will call it honest though. That's who Roy McAvoy is. They tell us this the entire movie. That final temper tantrum is absolutely earned. In the moment, I hated the ending but the more time I've had to think about it, the more I appreciated McAvoy's lack of a journey. Most people don't change.
My biggest issue with the end is that McAvoy gets Rene Russo's character Dr. Molly Griswold. I don't think there is any way a psychiatrist would date a guy who constantly sabotages himself. I know Kevin Costner is a really good looking guy but she was literally dating Don Johnson earlier in the movie. Not only that but his character was a wildly successful golfer to boot.
I would have liked this movie so much more if she had walked away from this guy. Ron Shelton made a similar choice with the end of White Men Can't Jump. It was frustrating because this felt so authentic with McAvoy's reactions. To have Rene Russo stick around made a brutally honest ending feel like phony.
On this episode of Double Play, Kelly Keegs and I talk Tin Cup as well as Bring It On:
You can watch the whole episode below or click HERE to listen:
