Interesteg What makes it different from others?

Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

FrogGlace In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

chaos-rampant I was intrigued going in. Robert Towne working from a script of his, Gibson, Pfeiffer and Russell at their most fresh. Conrad Hall handling the camera, a wise assignment to the rookie Towne. It would be taking place in LA, the most noir of cities. What could have gone so wrong?I guess one thing to note is that Towne isn't up to it. He films a hodge podge of scenes where romance, conflict or drug plot are sped along to be whatever the story demands them to be at that point. You'll see angles and shots awkwardly hanging about like discarded fabrics from something that was badly sewn. Heartfelt exchanges between the trio of characters but they all feel patched on. A Spanish guitar twirls wistfully now and then to remind that this is all fundamentally tragic.So it's all in disarray here but the real problem as I see it is deep in the fabric of the imagination that gives rise to it.A way to think about it is that America had caroused into apathy since the time of Chinatown, both in a larger sense and the Hollywood mirror. It was "morning again" but a kind of fake morning like someone had filmed the idyllic sunrise in an studio backlot of the 50s (much like Reagan's ad feels).This isn't a matter of the film not being dark or cynical enough as though either were a virtue. Chinatown was both but it was from having its ear on the ground. It's that the cinematic mirror here is pointed without care, showing no particular thing. It has a slapdash feel that to my mind serves as reflection of this larger dissipation of vision.(You can practically watch this disconnect take place in Lethal Weapon the previous year; a noir plot where cops come to investigate a mysterious suicide, by the end we don't get to know anything about the girl who leaped to her death, but we have all this time devoted to explaining the whole drug trafficking plan with its cartoon villains.)There's one scene that stands out; the one that begins with Pfeiffer and Gibson kissing in front of the azaleas, cuts to prowling shots outside the house, gives us their lovemaking inverse reflected on steamy waters, intercut with shots of voyeur cops "viewing" intently, and intercut again with Russell making an important discovery by looking at photos (that he magically procured from thin air to serve the story). But even that stands out as clumsy bravura, trying to be Welles for a few minutes out of the blue.It just goes to waste the youthful energy of these actors, Pfeiffer in particular. She brings to life one of the screen women truly worth knowing; aloofness that glides with kind dignity, guards herself without ego, spirited enough to stay and find out.Noir Meter: not a noir

leplatypus Well, this movie was released before Pacino's movie and Pam's show but it hasn't their fame: in one word, it's about an ex-drug dealer who tries to lead a honest life but his past world wants to drag him back. If "CW" is a serious drama, this one is rather lighter as it happens in sunny Malibu (even if reading the title, i had always thought it was rather Miami). It allows a beautiful scene with figures against the sun and above all, it has an amazing quartet of cast: Mel, Michelle, Raul Julia and Russell, tangled with an interesting love triangle.However, if i don't give "7" but "4", it's because the story was a bit boring and very usual: cop vs dealer! For me, when we have watched one movie in this genre, we have watched them all. When we think about how old and how much money this fight has cost whereas the market is still dynamic, you can come to the conclusion that all this is simply irrelevant and wasteful: as written in Schiff's book "Real Crash", the government should think maybe to legalize drugs and become the one and only dealer. With that, maybe, there would be fewer victims, fewer crimes and fewer empty cop movies...

AaronCapenBanner Robert Towne directed this steamy crime/love story that stars Mel Gibson as Mac McKussic, a "high class", reluctant drug dealer who wants to go straight. Kurt Russell plays Nick Frescia, a cop who is also an old friend of Mac, but is still determined to bring him down. Both men are attracted to fancy restaurant owner Jo Ann(played by Michele Pfeiffer) for different reasons. Mac is really in love with her, Nick wants to use her relationship with Mac to lead him to a Mexican drug cartel leader(played by Raul Julia) that the DEA(led by J.T. Walsh) desperately wants. All will collide by the finale... Though well cast, and not without some merit, this story is ultimately unappealing because there is nobody to root for, and the story isn't strong enough to compensate.

Scarecrow-88 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).