Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Tin Cup Blu-ray Movie Review

Shanks for the memories.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III April 1, 2020

So, where do you go after Waterworld? The golf course, obviously. After that infamous 1995 epic (which wasn't as big a box-office bomb or as bad as you remember), Kevin Costner reunited with director Ron Shelton to recapture the magic of Bull Durham. Our result is the pleasing but padded tale of rogue golfer Roy "Tin Cup" McAvoy (Costner), once a young prodigy who now treads water with pal Romeo (Cheech Marin) at a run-down driving range in West Texas. His interest is sparked one afternoon by psychologist Dr. Molly Griswold (Rene Russo); she's interested in golf lessons from someone other than her pompous boyfriend David Simms (Don Johnson), who Roy knew back in college.

An obligatory love triangle develops, further fueled by Roy and David's raw competitiveness on the course, and it's not long before fate prods our reluctant hero back into the spotlight. His plan sounds awfully ambitious but simple enough on paper -- win the U.S. Open and Molly's heart -- but Roy's unorthodox playing style and stubborn demeanor won't make either task easy. He's clearly his own worst enemy, but Roy seems to enjoy being an underdog -- and with the dutiful Romeo along for the ride as his faithful caddy, "Tin Cup" might actually pull this thing off.

It sounds like another streamlined and predictable rom-com from an era full of this stuff, but Tin Cup feels as open and drawn-out as Waterworld and even Dances With Wolves. I'm not sure how much influence Costner had on the final cut of this film, but its overly relaxed pacing shares a lot of similarities with those previous two outings...and not always in a good way. Although the game of golf all but requires a slower, more methodical character study to match, Tin Cup is easily 30 minutes too long: from superfluous subplots about Roy's not-all-that-interesting group of friends back home to his ex-girlfriend's reappearance and a little too much "will they or won't they" between our too leads, the basic plot is stretched to its absolute breaking point and just barely resolves itself without tearing in half.

But on the right lazy weekend afternoon, Tin Cup can still hit that sweet spot and, for those who saw and enjoyed this one back in the day, I'd imagine it carries a good amount of nostalgic value. The film really does have a refreshingly quaint and charming core, along with likable lead performances by Costner, Rene Russo, and Cheech Marin. All that is just enough to glue everything else together, with the added bonus that no, you don't actually have to be a lifelong fan of golf to follow along and enjoy. I'd still say that Warner Archive Collection's long-overdue Blu-ray will play better for established fans, though Tin Cup is still accessible enough to be a halfway decent blind buy: armed with one of the studio's consistently great remasters, this film sparkles like new and looks waay better than the old DVD.

Tin Cup Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Although hardly the oldest title in the vault, Tin Cup has nonetheless been long overdue for a remaster -- to the best of my knowledge, the only two DVD editions (released in 1997 and 2009) made use of the same source material, a dated master created back when laserdiscs were still being produced. Not surprisingly, Warner Archive's new Blu-ray marks a huge improvement; it's sourced from a recent 2K scan of the interpositive and looks great with strong image detail, plenty of visible film grain, and a pleasing palette that showcases Tin Cup's sun-baked locations. Warm earth tones are prominent with plenty of room for vivid greens, which are richly saturated but show no obvious signs of bleeding. As usual, the disc is well-authored and runs at an extremely high bit rate while completely avoiding compression artifacts, banding, and other eyesores. Overall, this is a very tight and stable image that, while clearly looking like a product of its time period, is so far beyond previous home video releases that die-hard fans will be thrilled.

Tin Cup Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix is a crowd-pleaser as well, offering plenty of wide-open space during outdoor sequences, whether it's during a solitary bucket of balls at the driving range or a packed crowd at the U.S. Open. Discrete effects occasionally extend to the surrounds but those channels are generally reserved for the music, a mixture of William Ross's original score and plenty of blue-collar pop cuts by the likes of The Texas Tornados, Bruce Hornsby, Shawn Colvin, Patty Loveless, Mickey Jones, Mary-Chapin Carpenter, and more. Although the LFE channel is unsurprisingly reserved during much of Tin Cup, it offers plenty of support during the film's biggest musical moments. All the while, dialogue is anchored right up front but likewise extends to the surround channels in densely crowded areas. From start to finish, it's a straightforward and satisfying mix that does its job perfectly well.

Tin Cup Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with poster-themed artwork and no inserts. As usual with Warner Archive Collection Blu-rays, extras are limited to what was available previously -- in this case, almost nothing.

• Theatrical Trailer (1:57) - A pretty standard trailer that captures Tin Cup's amiable, laid-back atmosphere fairly well. Watch it on Warner Archive's YouTube channel here.

Tin Cup Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Ron Shelton's Tin Cup is comfortably relaxed but awfully indulgent, an otherwise lightweight romantic comedy bogged down with at least 30 minutes of padding. That said, anyone in it for the lead performances -- not to mention die-hard golf fans -- will likely enjoy it despite this handicap, especially on a lazy weekend afternoon. Warner Archive, as usual, offers an outstanding A/V presentation that's even more appreciated due to its home video history. Extras are minimal, but that won't stop established fans from picking this up; newcomers, however, should try before they buy.