Tequila Sunrise
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Movie Reviews of Tequila Sunrise
Movie Review: Slick!
Summary: 4 Stars
One of my favorite Mel Gibson movies. The look is gorgeous, pure eye candy. The hot tub scene is worth the price!Movie Review: Just Another Tequila Sunrise
Summary: 3 Stars
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.
Movie Review: It was the '80s,afterall...
Summary: 3 Stars
..And a film in which a drug dealer(Mel Gibson,still a hearthrob then,before being outed as an anti-semetic bigot),a"good"cop(Kurt Russell)and a beautiful woman(Michelle Phiffer)who owns an italien restaurant can all interact(and,in Russell's case over-act) in an absurdly written script by some of the same folks who gave us"Chinatown"...Wow !..Russell,the"Good" cop is pals with Gibson,the"retired" drug dealer..Russell even makes it his business to interfere with an F.B.I.sting effort against Gibson and his drug dealer wannabe lawyer..Why does Russell obstruct justice and protect a couple of felons?Because he went to high school with Gibson,and that gave them a life-long bond..One of Gibson's old contacts from the drug cartel,the mysterious"Carlos" is soon to be back in town,and he contacts Gibson..It seems that they both like table tennis,and"carlos" just wants to drop by for a match in-between unloading twelve million dollars worth of heroin..Russell wants to bring down"Carlos" but does not really want to hurt his high school buddy in the process..
Both Gibson and Russell have the hots for Phiffer(and who could blame them?),and both use her in thier oh-so-obvious cat and mouse games..It seems that the local F.B.I.honcho(J.Emmet Walsh)and a hotshot policeman from mexico(Raul Julia) are trying to catch both Gibson and"carlos" in the act of doing some dirty business,and are trying to get Phiffer to expose Gibson in wire-tapped conversation..She has too much "intergrity" to do that,and besides which it's nice to fornicate nude with Gibson in his outdoor hot-tub(which is being monitored by the cops)..Russell,whose clumsy efforts to get Phiffer to incriminate Gibson fail also wants to roll around naked with her,but she's got too much"class" to be fornicating with"good" cops like him..Nah,she'd rather over-look Gibson's fifteen years of drug dealing,all of the lives he ruined,and instead concentrate on what a good dad he is to his thirteen year old son..
Walsh,who IS trying to nail the bad guys in his role as the F.B.I.guy has been scripted as being the villian,not because he's crooked but,instead,because he's not one of the "beautiful people" either involved in criminal activity or turning a blind eye because a friend is involved..
..it was the'80s afterall,and a lot of nonsense like this was popular...
Movie Review: Thrilless thriller
Summary: 3 Stars
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.
Movie Review: A DVD review
Summary: 3 Stars
An average film and slightly below average DVD. Another film that's on Amazon's essential list but doesn't make mine. The plot is tricky to follow. This may turn a lot of people off, but then it allows for multiple viewing, getting something new each time. The commentary from the producer is interesting from a producer viewpoint. He gives interesting info like the fact that the restaurant set was later sold to a restaurant that reproduced it on Hollywood Blvd. or that Harrison Ford originally was going to play Gibson's part but backed out or how Michele was nervous about the love scene and Mel wasn't. You hear other interesting tidbits when you can hear it. The producer talks in such a soft and mellow voice that you can barely hear him over the sound of the film. Overall I think this is a must if you like the genre, as it is an unusual twist especially for a Hollywood studio film. Otherwise, I may pass on it.