Tequila Sunrise (1988)

Director: Robert Towne

Starring: Mel Gibson, Kurt Russell, Michelle Pfeiffer, Raul Julia

Primary genre: Crime

Secondary genre: Romance

Nominated for: Best cinematography

Written and directed by the great Robert Towne (of the “Chinatown” (1974) fame), “Tequila Sunrise” contains a labyrinthic crime-ish plot injected with a love triangle among some of the hottest stars of the 80s (Gibson, Russell, Pfeiffer) for good measure.

Betting on the charisma of its appealing cast, Towne attempts to set up an interesting premise around its central character but its any ambiguity is quickly dissolved to favor a rather flat and unconvincing romance that affects the far more intriguing crime component. While the actors are more than capable to handle the unnecessary convoluted story, Towne insists on flirting excessively with the superfluous romance instead of providing crucial character development and a coherent event progression.

Having a clear storytelling goal here seems like a muddled objective and with the exception of Russell, there is not much pathos to the proceedings. Especially Pfeiffer suffers the most with her character doing one of the most irrational turns I have seen in a long time. While Raul Julia virtually disappears in a rather thankless role for the great actor. Unfortunately, as we are gearing towards the climax, events happen at such a fast pace with individuals knowing things that the audience is not even aware off creating more confusion in the process and rendering any natural plot progression unclear.

Yet there are things to love here. The setting (Manhattan beach) is gorgeous as the backdrop for drug dealing while the acting appeal of the main trio cannot be diminished. Towne casted accomplished actors Gibson and Russell against the traditional action tropes of that era sharing great chemistry which is a real shame as their relationship does not get explored much. Pfeiffer is gorgeous to look at (even if she is complemented by an OTT sex scene that does not fit with the rest of the film) and brings out nicely the conflict of a woman torn between two love interests and Towne’s direction boosted by the gorgeous (Oscar nominated) cinematography of Conrad Hall is sharp enough to elevate “TQ” above the routine drug infested crime thrillers of the 80’s.

“Tequila Sunrise” is a solid film for a reliable night in. it allows you to admire some of the best stars of that decade at the top of their game directed by one of the best screenwriters in then Hollywood. However, considering all the talent involved, you would have expected this to be something more than an adequate crime thriller.

This cocktail could have been stronger

+Vibrant cinematography

+Gibson and Russell are excellent

+Intriguing plot

-Unnecessarily convoluted

-Pfeiffer’s character arc is unconvincing

-Gibson’s character lacks pathos

-Wasted Raul Julia