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Tequila Sunrise

Tequila Sunrise (1988)

December. 02,1988
|
6
|
R
| Thriller Crime Romance

In a seaside California town, best friends Mac and Nick are on opposite sides of the law. Mac is a former drug dealer trying to clean up his act, while Nick is a high-profile detective trying to take down a Mexican drug lord named Carlos. Soon Nick's loyalties are put to the test when he begins an affair with restaurateur Jo Ann -- a love interest of Mac's -- unwittingly leading his friend into a police-orchestrated trap.

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Reviews

Ensofter
1988/12/02

Overrated and overhyped

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Lumsdal
1988/12/03

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

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Odelecol
1988/12/04

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

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TrueHello
1988/12/05

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

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blanche-2
1988/12/06

The only thing I heard about "Tequila Sunrise" back in the '80s was that it had a sexy hot tub scene. Does it ever.But the movie is more than that. It's the story of friendship and betrayal with some stunning cinematic moments.Mac Mckussic (Mel Gibson) is a drug dealer trying to go straight. His friend Nick Drescia (Kurt Russell) is the cop investigating him. Both Mac and Nick are attracted to Jo Ann (Michelle Pfeiffer), the owner of an Italian restaurant. What Nick wants from her, though, is information about Mac's plans. He wants to know more about Mac's drug dealing plans and his connections with a major Mexican dealer, Carlos, whom the police believe is coming to town to meet with Mac. "Tequila Sunrise" isn't heavy on action, which I suppose is one criticism, and it has some complicated subplots. And I'm not really sure you'd call it a noir - noirish maybe. What makes it interesting are the performances of Gibson, Pfeiffer, Russell -- and their beautiful looks -- and Raul Julia and J.T. Walsh, both marvelous.Someone described this as a chick flick. It's not hard-hitting like director Towne's classic Chinatown. It draws on some old themes - a love triangle, loyalty, friendship -- and it succeeds on that level. Comparing it to Chinatown won't get you anywhere.

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Predrag
1988/12/07

This tall tale finds Kurt Russell and Mel Gibson as a couple of long time friends who now find themselves on opposite sides of the law - Mel as a "retired" drug dealer and Kurt as the cop tasked with bringing him down. Michelle Pfeiffer (looking about as sensational as ever) finds herself in the middle of these two strapping studs as a story of drugs, sex, love and double crosses unfolds. Who are good guys? Who are the bad? Not sure who's got the moral high ground here but in the end it doesn't really matter. Robert Towne not only wrote a brilliant screen play, he did a great job of directing this film. While you might not think Mel Gibson, Kurt Russell, Michelle Pfeiffer and Raul Julia are the best actors of their generation, this movie is surely one of the best works in their repertoire.Compared to the average cop movie, the film is slow. On the plus side, considering it's a Hollywood movie, the film has an unusual ability to see shades of grey. At the end of the day, both of those observations stem from that fact that the film is primarily a romance with a police investigation backdrop. The characters are well drawn for crime film but are still pretty two dimensional for a romantic drama. Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

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bkoganbing
1988/12/08

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.

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Tweekums
1988/12/09

Dale 'Mac' McKussic was a successful drug dealer in Southern California but now it seems he wants to go straight; unfortunately nobody else seems to want him to leave the business and the DEA are desperate to put him away. His situation is further complicated because Mac's old friend Nick Frescia just happens to be the local police officer leading the investigation; he doesn't want to bust his friend but will if he has to. Mac frequents a restaurant owned by Jo Ann Vallenari because he rather fancies her; the DEA believe he must be doing something illicit there so Nick gets close to Jo Ann to find out what she knows… especially anything concerning 'Carlos'; a Mexican drug baron who is rumoured to be coming north for a major deal involving Mac.This is a solid film that nicely combines a crime thriller with a dash of romance. Mel Gibson does a fine job as Mac; we know that the character has been involved in the drug business but the way he is portrayed makes him likable and keeps the viewer hoping he is being honest about leaving the business… even when evidence often suggests otherwise. Kurt Russell also does a solid job as Nick and Michelle Pfeiffer impresses as Jo Ann. The rest of the cast, which includes the likes of J. T. Walsh and Raul Julia are pretty good too. The story is interesting with a decent number of twists before the tense and explosive conclusion. Overall I'd say that this is a pretty good film; not a must see but is worth seeing if you are a fan of the genre or any of the stars.

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