NY Times Columnist Tom Friedman & The Romantic Golf Dramedy “Tin Cup”
A NY Times Op/Ed columnist and the 1996 romantic golf dramedy “Tin Cup” — shall the twain ever meet? YES!
In a stunning event that I haven’t been able to get off my mind since August 2011, New York Times columnist and best-selling author of “The World is Flat” (and other best-sellers) quoted the Kevin Costner film “Tin Cup” in one of his columns. I have been processing this event for some time and have finally collected some thoughts on this very important matter.
You see, “Tin Cup” (as depicted below) is a movie I’ve a seen a few times.
I am oddly fascinated by the distinct average-ness of this movie. It’s staggeringly average. There’s some decent suspense, but the dialogue is pretty preposterous. The same director/writer did “Bull Durham,” which is a movie I really love.
In any event, Kevin Costner’s character Roy “Tin Cup” McAvoy is a driving range pro who somehow qualifies for the U.S. Open to face his arch nemesis from his college golf days, played by Don Johnson. Also, he steals Don Johnson’s girlfriend Rene Russo who is a psychologist who uses talk therapy to “treat” Roy’s case of “the shanks” which is hurting his golf game. This summary doesn’t do justice to the films preposterous-ness…in a stunning example of this preposterous-ness, there are also like 6-7 guys — who apparently have no jobs or private lives — because all they do is follow Costner around and make “funny” comments about his golfing and love life. Anyway, the saving grace of the movie is that the ending is actually surprising and interesting.
Where does Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist and best-selling author Thomas Friedman (as depicted below on NBC’s “Meet The Press”) come in?
Friedman quoted the movie “Tin Cup” thusly in an August 23, 2011 column entitled “Obama, Tiger, Golf and Politics” about a debt reduction bill:
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“Meanwhile, Mr. President, on a rainy day, rent the movie “Tin Cup.” There is a great scene where Dr. Molly Griswold is trying to help Roy “Tin Cup” McAvoy, the golf pro, rediscover his swing — and himself. She finally tells him: “Roy … don’t try to be cool or smooth or whatever; just be honest and take a risk. And you know what, whatever happens, if you act from the heart, you can’t make a mistake.”
Full article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/24/opinion/friedman-obama-tiger-golf-and-politics.html
Friedman’s website: http://www.thomaslfriedman.com/
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That’s right, Tom Friedman quoted this romantic golf dramedy in his column. First of all, he recommends that the President “rent” the movie. I’m pretty sure if the President wants a copy of “Tin Cup” he doesn’t have to make a Blockbuster run.
And, then, Friedman quotes dialogue from the movie. This means one of two things: 1.) Friedman has the movie memorized and can quote from it by heart (which I bet even Costner and Russo can’t do) or 2.) Friedman got a copy of the movie and scoured it for quotable lines that relate to public policy. In either scenario, what is up, Friedman?
By the way, did I mention Friedman has a Ph.D.
Between his books, column, public talks, policy show appearances, when is Friedman watching “Tin Cup” so often that he is ultra-familiar with its themes and dialogue?
Lastly, why am I addressing this now or at all? First of all, because I’m a dummy. And, second, because I simply have not been able to get it off my mind. I read Friedman all the time. I’m a fan. And, if I had one question to ask him, I wouldn’t ask him about, say, Afghanistan or the Arab Spring…I would ask him to elaborate on his relationship to “Tin Cup.”
Imagine if during a discussion of the threat of loose nuclear weapons in former Soviet republics…Fareed Zakaria or Tom Brokaw or really anyone quoted, say, “For Love of the Game”…
…Wouldn’t you be curious what a very busy, smart person was doing knowing so much about a relatively forgotten sports romance movie? Apparently, I sure would.
So, Tom Friedman, hopefully you’ve got a Google alert on your name and this pops up and you get back to me on it. But, then again, why would a respected columnist (e.g., Friedman) who writes insightful pieces about foreign affairs bother responding to some dummy (e.g., me) who writes a piece about a respected columnist who writes insightful pieces about foreign affairs and the time said respected columnist quoted “Tin Cup?”
