In a sentenceThree attractive people spend rather too long explaining why we should be worried about them
Dale “Mac” McKussic (Mel Gibson) has a business to protect and a friendship under pressure. Lieutenant Nick Frescia (Kurt Russell) has professional loyalties to consider, while Jo Ann Vallenari (Michelle Pfeiffer) finds herself between the two men. Their personal ties become entangled with the business at stake, with romance adding another reason to question each other’s motives. Commandante Xavier Escalante (Raul Julia) and DEA Agent Hal McGuire (J. T. Walsh) also enter the picture. The business, the friendship and the possibility of romance place different demands on each of them.
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Mel Gibson, Kurt Russell and Michelle Pfeiffer make Robert Towne’s romantic crime thriller pleasant company. Too much talk and a tangled plot keep getting in the way of their chemistry.
Robert Towne’s Tequila Sunrise is an agreeable romantic thriller that asks for too much patience with its crime plot. Mel Gibson, Kurt Russell and Michelle Pfeiffer make the attraction easy to believe, even when keeping track of the competing loyalties becomes a chore. Writing and directing, Robert Towne gives those loyalties plenty of attention. He is less successful at making each new complication feel worth the time spent explaining it.
Kurt Russell brings an appealing confidence to Lieutenant Nick Frescia, enough to suggest that being liked could be part of the job. Mel Gibson gives Dale “Mac” McKussic a less settled presence, which makes their pairing useful before the story starts adding conditions. Michelle Pfeiffer supplies much of the romantic conviction as Jo Ann Vallenari. We enjoyed watching the three leads weigh one another up; their chemistry makes the triangle worth caring about.
The dialogue has some of the same appeal, since Robert Towne gives the actors lines that sound as though someone has taken care over them. There is simply too much of it. Exchanges keep going when the tension between the people ought to be doing more of the work, and following the crime story begins to feel like an obligation. We grew impatient with the explanations because they kept postponing the part of the film we liked.
Conrad Hall’s cinematography is essential to that pleasure. The flattering treatment of the stars makes the romance feel inviting, and the polish is appropriate to a film so invested in attraction. Richard Sylbert’s production design supports the same impression of desirable surroundings, though we wanted those surroundings to feel less reassuring when the crime story demanded our attention. There is little in that polish to make the danger feel immediate.
Claire Simpson’s editing leaves room for the performers, which is welcome whenever their exchanges have some friction. It is less helpful when the dialogue is explaining relationships we already understand, and the 115-minute running time begins to feel generous. Dave Grusin’s score helps keep the romantic mood intact rather than giving the crime material much additional weight. Taken together, the cutting and music encourage us to settle in, when a little more pressure would have served the thriller.
As a crime romance, the film has enough going for it to make its muddle frustrating rather than fatal. We do not need every piece of business to withstand examination, but we do need the complications to change how we feel about the people involved. Too often they merely give everyone more to discuss. There is a decent evening here for anyone content to follow the attraction and forgive the slackness around it. Choose it when a persuasive romantic triangle will do, and a tight thriller is not essential.
The reviews lean towards a mixed response to Tequila Sunrise, with praise clustering around the performances and polished style rather than the crime story. Mel Gibson, Kurt Russell and Michelle Pfeiffer are repeatedly credited with giving the film appeal, even by critics who find the plotting unconvincing. The romantic atmosphere also wins support: The New Yorker finds the film more persuasive as a glamorous romantic fantasy than as a crime melodrama.
Reservations centre on an insubstantial, sometimes muddled story, with drug dealings and police operations competing for attention with the characters. The spread is fairly wide: Radio Times finds an entertaining thriller about former schoolfriends on opposite sides of the law, despite some excessive wordiness. The Los Angeles Times is much less persuaded, admiring the performances and Conrad Hall’s cinematography but finding that the complicated plot overwhelms the people in it.
Kael finds the film flimsy as a crime melodrama but delectable as romantic fantasy. She especially praises the stars’ chemistry and the film’s glamorous, amorous atmosphere.
Read the full review →The page is inaccessible, so the critic’s verdict cannot be verified. Its URL identifies a review framed around cocaine and conflicting loyalties.
Read the full review →The review finds the film only moderately successful. It singles out the performances and the film’s polished style as strengths.
Read the full review →Hutchinson finds the thriller extremely entertaining, though Towne’s wordiness sometimes gets in the way. He singles out its engaging portrayal of former schoolfriends on opposite sides of the law.
Read the full review →The review sees Towne as a stronger screenwriter than director, resulting in a mixed verdict. It praises his screenwriting talent but questions his directing skill.
Read the full review →Benson finds the film slick and ultimately insubstantial, despite its polished writing and performances. She praises the three stars’ work and Conrad Hall’s sumptuous cinematography, but says the complicated plot overwhelms the characters.
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Out of SightFor a crime romance that lets attraction complicate every professional decision.
Touchez pas au grisbi · not reviewed yetAnother criminal friendship under pressure, with considerably less interest in explaining itself.
The Long Good FridayFor criminal ambition and personal loyalties squeezed into a much tighter thriller.
Decision to LeavePolice work becomes a poor excuse for spending time with someone dangerous.
The Hot Spot · not reviewed yetMore heat, compromised loyalties and attractive people making decisions they should reconsider.
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