For a few terrible moments toward the end of Tin Cup it seems possible that Roy McAvoy (Kevin Costner), the driving-range pro from Salome, Texas, may actually win the U.S. Open. Oh, no, the quailing spirit wails, not another Rocky clone, not another inspirational fable to feed false dreams of glory among the little guys.
This is an unworthy fear. By this time we should have learned to trust the cockeyed integrity of Ron Shelton, who directed and co-wrote (with John Norville) the film. Surely the movies' reigning poet of knucklehead machismo, the man who gave us Bull Durham and Cobb,...