Synopsis
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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Cast
- Mel GibsonDale "Mac" McKussic
- Michelle PfeifferJo Ann Vallenari
- Kurt RussellLieutenant Nick Frescia
- Raúl JuliáCommandante Xavier Escalante
- J.T. WalshDEA Agent Hal McGuire
- Arliss HowardGregg Lindroff
- Arye GrossAndy Leonard
- Gabriel DamonCody McKussic
- Daniel ZacapaArturo, bartender at Vallenari's (credited as Garret Pearson)
- Tom NolanLeland
Recommendations
- 100
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Kurt Russell has never seemed more clever, Mel Gibson more vulnerable nor Michelle Pfeiffer more goddess-like. Once upon a time, before the pictures got small and the hills were obscured by smog, the Hollywood sign read: "Hollywoodland." That was back when Tequila Sunrise, an intelligent, escapist epic for adults, wouldn't have seemed the anomaly it seems today. [2 Dec 1988, p.C1] - 88
Boston Globe
What sets Tequila Sunrise apart is its layering, its existential dimension. The characters played by Gibson and Russell have been sanded down by a kind of fatalism we normally associate with characters in French gangster movies. There's more than one facet to them. They're entertaining. And urgent. Even when they're just going through routine genre moves, they put laid-back spin on them. [2 Dec 1988, p.29] - 75
Chicago Tribune
As a screenplay Tequila Sunrise is a very impressive piece of work. But as a movie, it's knotty and confused. [2 Dec 1988, p.B] - 75
San Francisco Chronicle
Tequila Sunrise is a sharp-looking, tantalizing romantic thriller whose assets overcome a labored plot and several lapses into L.A. hipness that result in sheer inscrutability. [2 Dec 1988, p.E1] - 63
Chicago Sun-Times
Tequila Sunrise is an intriguing movie with interesting characters, but it might have worked better if it had found a cleaner narrative line from beginning to end. It's hard to surrender yourself to a film that seems to be toying with you. - 63
TV Guide Magazine
Luckily, Towne has assembled a marvelous cast who somehow manage to keep the film moving, despite their obvious confusion over just what it is they're supposed to be feeling. - 60
Los Angeles Times
Written with his trademark artfulness, nicely acted and gorgeously pretty, Tequlia Sunrise finally blows away into slick unsubstantiality. [2 Dec 1988, p.1] - 40
The New York Times
The movie has the fuzzy focus of someone who has stared too long at a light bulb. Narrative points aren't made and the wrong points are emphasized. It could also be that too much footage was shot so that, when the time came for editing, a lot of essential material had to be cut out.
