Mel Gibson Movie:

Editorial Review:
Robert Towne is one of Hollywood's most celebrated screenwriters, but because his directorial efforts have been few and far between, anticipation was high when this star-powered crime story was released in 1988. Critical reaction was decidedly mixed, but there's plenty to admire in this silky, visually seductive film about a drug dealer (Mel Gibson) whose best friend from high-school (Kurt Russell) is now working for the Los Angeles sheriff's drug detail. Their personal and professional conflicts are intensified by their love for the same woman, a waitress (Michelle Pfeiffer) at the Italian restaurant they both frequent. There's a big deal going down with a drug lord (the late Raul Julia), but as it twists and turns, Towne's story is really more about personal loyalties and individual honor. And even if it doesn't quite hold together, the movie's got a fantastic look to it (courtesy of the great cinematographer Conrad Hall), and the three stars bring depth and dimension to their well-written roles. --Jeff Shannon

Tequila Sunrise [Region 2] Reviews:
A truely great film!
2009-09-22 - Tequila Sunrise... one of my favorite movies, period. It was perfectly cast with Mel Gibson, Kurt Russell, Michele Pfieffer, Raul Julia, J.T. Walsh and Arlis Howard and the movie has a sexiness that is entrancing. It was beautifully shot and Michelle Pfeiffer looks absolutely amazing in it as well.

Much like R. Legendre, I too do not understand people who say that the plot was hard to follow. Tequila Sunrise was very well written, has fantastic acting and when I first saw the movie in the theatre when I was 15 I understood the plot perfectly fine. In fact I was so taken by the film that I went to the theatre twice to see it within a one week period! Robert Towne created an absolute masterpiece.

I've had this movie on VHS and Laserdisc and I have it on DVD and I can't wait to see it in glorious 1080P and hear that amazing David Sanborn solo many more times in gorgeous lossless audio when it arrives on Blu-ray.

Just Another Tequila Sunrise
2009-04-01 - A few months back I was doing some research on the theme of "friendship on film." It was for a film series I was running, and while there were literally hundreds of possibilities for female friends, the array of serious or even just "solid" genre films about male bonding seemed relatively paltry. (I wish I could have had access to a list I saw published online just last week about film's concerning "bromances"--that certainly gave me a few belated ideas.)

One film that came up in a few lists I consulted was one that I had seen quite a few years ago, Robert Towne's sunlit noir TEQUILA SUNRISE. I only remembered the film vaguely, but since it concerned best friends on the opposite side of the law, it seemed like it might have some possibilities. (The only other thing that stuck in my head all these years, oddly enough, was the fact that at one point Michelle Pfeiffer's restauranteur character promises an ailing child that she'll send over some "angel hair pasta" for him--and although I could easily surmise what it was, I was astonished that there was a pasta I had never heard of, but then you must understand that the Italian "cuisine" of my childhood was pretty much limited to Chef Boy-ar-dee, and I've been playing catch-up my whole adult life.)

However, when "angel hair pasta" is one of the few things you can recall about a film, you know you're in trouble. Still the attractive cast and the "friendship" theme made me think it might well be worth another look. It was. But just barely. Perhaps I'm being unkind. Let's put it this way: if my film series were going to be truly extensive, then including this decided "non-masterpiece," might have been viable. It IS all about the theme of "friendship" and how that theme might be treated in a genre film (particularly a latter day genre film) could make for some interesting discussion.

So why did I pass on it? It certainly addressed my theme: in fact, at some point or other, pretty much EVERY character makes some pithy (or not so pithy) statement about the nature of friendship. But just as the movie as a whole takes on too many confusing twists and turns, its reflections on the friendship theme were all pretty muddled. Probably the most clearheaded commentary on the theme comes from Raul Julia's admittedly complex charactern when he rants (pretty sophomorically) about how one cannot choose one's family and that one's, uh, libido may misguide one in matters of the heart, BUT friendship should be the ONE relationship you can count on.

Or some such.

Did I mention the plot is a confusing mess? So much so it actually compelled me to go back and re-watch the beginning to see what I had missed. (That makes two and a half viewings, which is--as some critics like to snipe--about five hours of my life that I'll never get back. I'm not complaining though since I didn have plenty of nachos and dip). Finally, it did start to make sense, but to tell the truth there were some points that I still didn't get until I started reading other reviews here and elsewhere. I can be pretty dense about mysteries sometimes (guess I'm just naive), but I'm not too bad at character analysis, but even here the film falls down.

TEQUILA SUNRISE is a rather elaborate mystery-thriller which WANTS to be more than that. And if it's not quite out to make a truly GRAND statement about friendship, romantic love OR angel hair pasta, it's at least trying to make a substantial one on at least two of those subjects.



Great nostalgic movie
2009-02-07 - I loved this movie. If you like Kurt Russell, you'll love this movie. If you like Lethal Weapon, you'll like it. Not because of Mel Gibson, but rather because of the feel-good, yet crime/cop effect it has is similar to Lethal Weapon. The hot tub scene is hot, and there is sufficient action/excitement (not even comparable to Lethal Weapon's level of action).

Thrilless thriller
2008-12-29 - This is certainly not a typical thriller; it was likely the filmmaker's (Robert Towne's) intent to make it this way. The emphasis is much more on personality and friendship than on plot machinations that more clearly define what a thriller is. Because of a huge dollop of romance, courtesy of a strong love triangle--Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Kurt Russell--the movie feels much more like a drama with a couple of thriller elements thrown in (JT Walsh as a somewhat evil cop and Arlen Specter as a snitch) just to make sure the term "thriller" could be used to assign this to a genre.

One of the big problems here is that the stakes are just not raised enough to make this a gripping film. We already know that Russell and Gibson are friends who are now on opposite sides of the law. Not much is done to develop any real buildup of tension based on that opposition. The introduction of Raul Julia as a shady Mexican cop seems mostly like an afterthought, again to add to the labeling of the movie as a "thriller".

Overall this strikes me as a very loosey-goosey movie with admittedly lush cinematography (the only real high point of the piece) that tries to hide the much-too-laid-back tone of what could possibly have been a much better thriller per se, but instead winds up being a two-hour time-killer when you don't have a whole lot of choices to throw into your DVD player.

For the ultimate Mel Gibson fan
2008-05-03 - If you're a Mel Gibson fan, don't miss this movie. It's his sexiest movie ever and, for the male population, Michele Pfeiffer is in it too and how! It's not just steamy, it's really hot!