Tequila Sunrise (available for pre-order now) was a rental store staple for me that I would always see on the shelf as a child, but never rented because, you know, it’s not exactly a kids movie based on that title. When I finally checked it out years later as a big fan of both Mel Gibson and Kurt Russell, I came away disappointed. When this new release from Arrow was announced, I decided to check it out because maybe I was still too young to appreciate it that first time. Turns out this is just okay.
This is a movie completely reliant on star power. Without Gibson, Russell, Pfeiffer, and Julia I doubt this movie is remembered at all. The fact that it’s not that remembered today even with this cast says it all.
Written and directed by Robert Towne (the guy who famously wrote Chinatown and much less famously wrote and directed Ask the Dust), Tequila Sunrise is about lifelong friends on opposite sides of the law who both fall in love with a restaurant owner. All the inherent conflict should make this very compelling, but it all seems uneventful. There’s a low energy to the film that makes the high stakes of it all feel low.
But all these stars are in their prime and are so watchable that it still ends up being okay. It’s just that it should be great. Perhaps my expectations were too high and misplaced. The love triangle element isn’t that interesting to me, and that takes up more of the plot than the drug smuggling. I simply didn’t care who Pfeiffer ended up with, mainly because Russell is a bit of a shithead in this, and it doesn’t make much sense why she’s giving him any chance at all. But then again, her other option is a former drug smuggler who nearly gets her killed for simply knowing him, so maybe she just has poor taste in men?
Beyond that, I guess I wanted more of a Michael Mann experience, in which the film goes on vibes more than plot. I needed a Miami Vice scene in which some intricate detail is being explained but the sound drowns out as a character stares off into the ocean. But Towne isn’t capable of that since he’s a screenwriter first, and a director second.
Despite that, Tequila Sunrise has its beautiful moments. It better, with a title like that. The standout scene is a dialogue between Russell and Gibson during a sunset. If more scenes were like that, I would have at least enjoyed this more as a visual experience, but moments like that are rare.
All that written, this doesn’t get an Arrow 4K if it isn’t beloved. People clearly like this movie; I wish I was one of them. Maybe it’s as simple as being too young when it first came out. Who knows? But one thing’s for sure, I’m done trying to love this movie.
Random Thoughts
Despite my misgivings, I must admit the film does feature tequila, sunrises (more sunsets, though), and Tequila Sunrises (Mel Gibson's character drinks them). So there's that.
My main memory of this film beyond seeing it at the video store is its appearance in Interview with the Vampire. Louis is seen leaving a screening of Tequila Sunrise before he finds a decrepit Lestat. It’s part of him talking about being able to see the sun again through movies. I get that, but does that mean he watches any movie with "sun" in the title? What a fucking dildo.
Transfer and Special Features
Arrow is one of those distributors you can trust to handle a film with care, and that’s the case here. That sunset scene looks great, as does the rest of the film.
The standout of this new release was a new interview with producer Thom Mount (there’s also a commentary with him, but I don’t care enough about this movie to check that out). He’s as low energy as the movie, but he’s candid as hell. He acknowledges that current Mel Gibson is not great, but back then he seemed great! Somehow he brings up merkins and pasties in regards to the Pfeiffer and Gibson sex scene. And he says Robert Towne was so checked out that famed cinematographer Conrad Hall was brought in not only as DP, but also to shadow direct when Towne was late to set (which was a daily occurrence).
An interview with second AD Robert Roda confirms the Towne stuff as he talks about it being rare to have a second AD at all. It sounds like this was a team effort when it came to directing.
There’s a retrospective about Towne’s entire career, as well.
And there’s a truly odd interview with Lala Sloatman. The interview itself isn’t odd, as she goes through her career, and her time working on the film. It’s odd because she plays “Sin Sister #2,” a character with five seconds of screen time. I really want to know why they tracked her down for this. She’s related to the Zappas and seems to know a lot of famous folk, so maybe she’s friends with the producer of this new release or something.
There’s also the usual Arrow stuff like a reversible sleeve and a collectible booklet with essays about the film.