88. I Wonder by Chris Isaak

"I Wonder" by Chris Isaak

Written by Chris Issak
Produced by Erik Jacobsen
Released on Baja Sessions (October 8, 1996)
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I heard this song for the first time while watching the movie Tin Cup. Up until that point the only Chris Isaak song I knew was "Wicked Game" because of its somewhat scandalous music video that had enjoyed heavy rotation on MTV in the early 1990's. I loved "I Wonder" from the moment I heard it, and as a result, I will always associate it, for better or worse, with Tin Cup.

I really enjoyed Tin Cup the first few times I saw it. It features peak Kevin Costner and some noteworthy supporting players. Kevin Costner's character, Roy "Tin Cup" McAvoy, is a near perfect film character: He's easy to love and just as easy to hate. He is the noble loser, who has grown comfortable with the fact that the world doesn't really need him anymore. We are given the illusion that maybe he could have been and maybe still can breakthrough and find greatness, but just when it looks like he actually managed to change and find salvation, we are given one of the most devastatingly satisfying losses in sports movie history. McAvoy's near capture of the US Open is magical. Many moments like that are directed and portrayed in a way that force me to want to look away. Not here. Here I cannot help but watch McAvoy's unraveling. 

Tin Cup has a problem though. As great as Costner's McAvoy is, the female lead, Dr. Molly Griswold, played by Rene Russo, is the absolute worst type of female character. The sad thing is, I wasn't able to figure this out on my own. A friend who was watching the movie with me had to wake me up to it. Tin Cup is a movie was made by men, about men, and for men. Dr. Molly Griswold is the biggest wet-blanket love interest ever written. We are given the briefest moment of hope when her character is first introduced, that she will be the strong woman that McAvoy needs to turn his life around and finally realize the potential that is locked up inside of himself. After that first brief interaction, however, it is just as quickly revealed that she is the most helpless and love-lost woman of them all. Of course she is in love with a jerk but can't see it. Of course she lets herself get talked into an ethically compromising "professional" relationship with another man. Of course she needs a man to help her find meaningful success both personally and professionally. It's shameful.

Everything is centered around Roy. He never has to change. The final sequence fits right in with who he is and will always be. He cannot literally or figuratively lay up, even when it is clearly the best path to victory. We, as viewers, get to bask in his inability to change and his need to prove himself as he stoically throws away personal glory. Molly just gets to be the weak woman who finally finds empowerment through her man.

Tin Cup is not a unique movie. There are probably thousands of female characters in all types of media who fit this mold. Dr. Molly Griswold is just another woman who can't see that her significant other is a jerk, when it is obvious to everyone else. She's just another woman who finally lets go of her inhibitions because she finds the right man. She's just another woman trying to help others put their lives in order, when she's the one whose life is a mess.

If you think I might be off base in my critique of Tin Cup (I'm not), give it a watch (or a re-watch) and let me know what you find out.

Of course, the only reason I care so much about this movie is because of the song. "I Wonder" is fantastic, in the movie and anywhere else it chooses to be heard. Chris Isaak wrote a perfect song. It manages to be both sad and hopeful. Isaak's lyrics and melody paint a picture of pain and regret. Will things ever be the same? Will they ever be as good as they once were? Sometimes we can only wonder and hope and pray. I'm not sure how he found that perfect lyrical balance, but he did. Then he wrapped those lyrics in a melody that is just as hopeful and just as sad.

Right now "I Wonder" by Chris Isaak is (probably) my 88th favorite song of all time.