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Just perfect...

How sad is this?

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

I'm betting that writer/director Robert Towne of Tequila Sunrise was a big fan of the great Warner Brothers classic Angels With Dirty Faces. That's the one where two kids who grow up to be James Cagney and Pat O'Brien, because one is caught by the authorities and one wasn't for some juvenile crime, one becomes a gangster and one becomes a priest.Here the mere fact that Kurt Russell was enjoying a midnight swim and Mel Gibson was caught smoking a joint on a Mexican beach makes all the difference in their lives. Russell becomes a cop, Gibson who gets protection in the Mexican prison from Raul Julia drug kingpin goes into the business. Little is left to the imagination about how Gibson enjoyed Julia's favor.Julia's wanted by just about everybody and while Gibson would really like to quit the business, he owes Julia and Julia is coming to the USA for a really big score. Putting Kurt Russell in a precarious position. It gets even more precarious when restaurant owner Michelle Pfeiffer arrives on the scene. She has a thing for both Gibson and Russell.This very unofficial redoing of Angels With Dirty Faces also from Warner Brothers is nicely updated to the glitzy 80s and all the players are doing some really good work here. Tequila Sunrise got an Oscar nomination for Cinematography and the way that fiery climax is photographed I can see why.I will say things work out a tad better than they did for James Cagney.

Robert Towne knows how to write. "Chinatown" is just as perfect as a screenplay can be, coupled with great acting, it's sublime. "Tequila Sunrise" is a reflection of the 80's, and it's a bit dated because one doesn't tend to think of this period as "noir", but it's a terrific piece, and it works because of the terrific group of actors who give it their best. Towne is not Polanski, yet his effort is commendable.At the heart of the drama is a trio of lovers who don't quite know what the other one is doing. Gibson appears to be trying to get out of the business, but his ties are too strong to just walk away. Russell plays a childhood friend who now must follow the rules of his chosen profession, and in the middle is a woman who is not quite sure what to believe and ultimately choose, or does she? Pfieffer is amazing in that role. If you can't be satisfied with that trio, here comes the inimitable Raul Julia as the oily and showy Mexican character who is even more of a puzzle than the relationship between the woman and her two suitors.Following the structure of noir films, we see events taking darker and unexpected turns, and though the ending might be seen by some as a deviation from the formula, we are willing to let it go because of the intense chemistry between the leads. Maybe the tribute to genre deserves an unexpected turn itself. In the end, audiences might feel just fine with the end product.

One of only five films directed by reputed writer Robert Towne (Chinatown), has some handsome stars (Kurt Russell, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Mel Gibson) to photograph in the striking location of Manhattan Beach, California. The story is truthfully fluff. A difficult relationship develops between restaurateur Pfeiffer and two buddies since high school, Russell (cop) and Gibson (drug dealer). Russell is a charmer with slicked back hair and a cocky bravado. Gibson is a tender-hearted softie pining for Pfeiffer; he's a good father who has attempted to go legit selling equipment and parts. Gibson spends time at Pfeiffer's successful Italian restaurant, hoping he might be able to eventually score a date. But Russell, working from the intense surveillance of DEA agents (led by the late, great JT Walsh), having bugged her restaurant, listening to conversations between Pfeiffer and Gibson, will beat his pal to the punch, seducing her before he even gets a chance. As this romantic melodrama commences, Pfeiffer instead falls in love with Gibson, even after all the dangers that might undermine their relationship like his Mexican drug partner (played by the usually excellent, late Raul Julia; Julia just steals the film, with his effortless charisma, once he emerges as the drug supplier masquerading as a Mexican Federali) appearing surprisingly (unbeknownst to the hapless Walsh, often considered foolish, with Russell often just emasculating him) and serious prison time if Gibson's caught by the DEA. Russell's character, working in concert with the DEA who seem to always botch any attempt to catch Gibson (and ultimately Julia), is placed in quite an emotional and professional quagmire…if he does his job correctly, his pal must go to prison and risk losing Pfeiffer in the process, but if he doesn't, it will detrimental to his law enforcement career. Seeing Pfeiffer having to decide between Gibson and Russell makes for the film's central dilemma; the ladies might understand how difficult it would be for her to choose. Russell is comfortable as the smooth operator, self-assured and confident at what he does (and he's damn good at catching criminals), with Gibson certain to make the girls swoon as a gentle divorcée longing for Pfeiffer but tied up in his business with Carlos (Julia) which could ruin any chance at happiness. Love triangles in these types of Hollywood romantic dramas are commonplace, but this was 1988 and Tequilla Sunrise has three bonafide stars as the leads. Towne was fortunate to get these three right when they were hot. It is a testament to Julia that he could walk away with the film considering the talent involved. I think the ending, which says that love conquers all even though it appears Gibson's going to jail (and should, to tell you the truth…), didn't quite wash with me, but I enjoyed how Russell grins in defeat accepting surrender when he realizes Pfeiffer is totally gaga for his pal. Considering Towne wrote this, you'd think there would be some meat on the bones, but this is all about star power; this kind of movie is more of a star vehicle and it seems Towne purposely avoided too complex a plot, instead opting to let his cast woo us with their talent (and looks). That sunset conversation between Russell and Gibson on the swingset is a showstopper of photographic beauty (the sunlight just bathes them, with us seeing just the silhouettes of Gibson and Russell as the talk about Pfeiffer and their dilemma).

This was a really dumb movie. It's mainly a silly love-triangle romance with a super-thin, drug caper plot. I vaguely remember watching this one as a kid, and being very bored, but I couldn't remember exactly what it was about or anything. Now, here I am, watching it again, and it really is the same boring, stupid movie. It's nice to see Kurt Russell and Mel Gibson along with Michelle Pfeiffer, but not only that, it's also got Raul Julia and JT Walsh, two late, great character actors, from way back. I just wish it were in a better movie. Ironically, of these two film greats, both of whom I, myself, remember fondly, one's character kills the other, immediately before effectively bringing about his own death, while recklessly lashing out at one of the leads.This movie has some good parts, namely the acting, which I could find no fault with, but the nonsense crime plot and silly romance really hang it up.Frankly, I'm fairly amused by all the positive reviews, but also by the fact that the director, Towne, also wrote Chinatown, possibly the best film of it's type, and which was a far, far, better flick than this one. Worth noting: in addition to Chinatown, (and despite Tequila Sunrise), Towne is also credited with writing multiple other of my own personal favorite movies, such as The Last Detail, Frantic, The Firm, The Parallax View, Bonnie & Clyde, and even a couple of the Mission: Impossible movies. I guess everyone has a bad day, from time to time...