
Robert
Towne needed a box office hit. By 1987, the legendary Hollywood screenwriter,
who rose to fame in the 1970s with the likes of The Last Detail (1973) and Chinatown
(1974), was in director’s jail after his debut, Personal Best (1982), flopped at the box office and he went through
a messy legal battle against studio executive David Geffen. He was trying to
get his second directorial effort, Tequila
Sunrise (1988), off the ground and knew he’d need bankable movie stars in
the lead roles. He managed to secure Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt
Russell who were all coming off successful high-profile hits with Lethal Weapon (1987), The Witches of Eastwick (1987) and Overboard (1987), respectively. They
jumped at the opportunity to work with someone such as Towne, drawn to his
well-written screenplay. The end result is a gorgeously shot neo-noir with a
love triangle that tests the friendship between two long-time friends on
opposite sides of the law.
Dale
“Mac” McKussic (Gibson) is a high-end drug dealer that is supposedly retired
even though Nick Frescia (Russell), head of narcotics for Los Angeles County,
runs into him at a drug deal. They are friends from way back and so Nick lets
him go before the bust goes down, however, Mac knew it was coming and got rid
of the drugs. One gets the feeling from the casual way they interact with each
other that they’ve crossed paths many times before this incident. Mac escapes
and just makes his late reservation at his favorite posh restaurant run by Jo
Ann Vallenari (Pfeiffer), who catches the eye of both him and Nick. The rest of
the film plays out a twisty cat and mouse game as Nick is torn between busting
his friend and trying to save him while Mac is torn between doing one last drug
deal and his love for Jo Ann – the person that puts their friendship to the
test. As the film progresses, various characters’ true motivations come into
focus and we see if Mac is smart enough to stay one step ahead of the Columbian
drug cartel he works for, the DEA and hold on to Jo Ann.
All three
lead actors exude sex appeal like crazy and part of the thrill of watching Tequila Sunrise is how these three movie
stars interact with one another, breathing life into Towne’s wonderful prose. Michelle
Pfeiffer’s Jo Ann is no damsel in distress. She’s a strong woman who easily
holds up to questioning early on from federal agents who grossly underestimate
her fortitude as evident in a beautifully acted and written scene where Jo Ann
expertly turns the tables on the Feds to Nick’s bemusement. She’s suave and
knows how to deal with her classy clientele but isn’t snobby either. With her
beautiful smile, Pfeiffer makes Jo Ann very charismatic and sexy. It is easy to
see why Mac and Nick find her so alluring. In turn, she is drawn to Nick’s
charisma and Mac’s vulnerability.
With his
slick, Pat Riley hairdo and shark grin, Kurt Russell’s Nick is a super
confident lawman that is great at his job as he is very perceptive and savvy,
which comes from years of experience and knowing what goes on in his own
backyard. The actor gives his character just the right amount of cockiness so
that he doesn’t come across as arrogant. This plays well off J.T. Walsh’s
humorless federal agent intent on busting Mac regardless of Nick’s friendship
with him. Russell has a wonderful scene with Pfeiffer where Nick comes clean
and explains why he got romantically involved with Jo Ann and the cocky façade comes
down to reveal a brutally honest person not afraid to be vulnerable in front of
her. He didn’t just get close to her to get close to Mac. He genuinely loves her
and is willing to put all his cards on the table. Russell shows an impressive
range in this scene but, like Jo Ann, you’re still not quite sure if he is 100%
genuine and not playing an angle.
Mel
Gibson’s laidback drug dealer is an excellent counterpoint to Russell’s
gregarious lawman. Mac plays things close to the vest and Gibson gives little
away which keeps us guessing as to how his character is going to evade the cops
and not get killed by his South American counterparts. His performance may not
be as flashy but it has a brooding intensity that is fascinating to watch. He can
go back and forth between showing Mac’s day-to-day routine (work at his legit
job and hang out with his son) and the aspects of his drug dealing trade and
show how they inform his character.
The
always reliable Arliss Howard is excellent as one of Mac’s drug contacts who is
constantly trying to get him to do another drug buy but he’s savvy enough to
know that this guy is bad news. Howard’s character comes across as amiable
enough but it isn’t too hard to figure out his character is probably an
informant trying to set up Mac. He’s a little too eager to do business and this
ultimately tips his hand.
The great
Raul Julia shows up partway through as the DEA’s Mexican counterpart but with a
secret agenda of his own. The actor looks like he’s have all kinds of fun with
his role, breaking out into song on two separate occasions for no reason at
all, taking over the scene for a few seconds. He really gets to sink his teeth
into the role once his character’s true identity is revealed.
Character actor extraordinaire, J.T. Walsh is excellent as a slimy DEA agent
that immediately butts heads with Nick who is much smarter and has no problem
rubbing the man’s nose in it. Walsh is a master of simmering rage, glowering
constantly as his character is constantly outsmarted and proven wrong.
Tequila Sunrise is beautifully shot by
the great cinematographer Conrad Hall (Butch
Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) as evident from the stunning sunset featured
in the background of a scene where Nick and Mac are captured in silhouette talking
on the beach. It’s an excellent scene as the two men sniff each other out to figure
out what the other knows and to tell each other to back off in so many words.
We get a real indication of what’s at stake and it’s not just their friendship
but potentially Mac’s life if he doesn’t play his cards exactly right as he’ll
either get busted or killed.
Robert
Towne based the Tequila Sunrise
screenplay on the courtship of his wife. In the mid-1980s, he frequented chef
Piero Selvaggio’s Valentino restaurant in Santa Monica. He would arrive late
and talk with Selvaggio’s wife Luisa. She would end up leaving her husband for
Towne. At one point, he moved to Paris to help Roman Polanski on the script for
Frantic (1988) and met producer Thom
Mount. He told him about his script for Tequila
Sunrise and after reading it took it to Warner Bros. The studio agreed to
do it if Mount could attract a movie star. Mount and Towne approached Harrison
Ford while he was making Frantic with
Polanski and he agreed to do it but as they got closer to principal photography
he pulled out as he didn’t think he could play Mac.
Towne
liked Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon and
approached him about playing Mac. He flew to Australia to meet with the actor who
asked him, “How do you feel about actors watching dailies?” to which Towne
replied, “Fine,” and he agreed to do it. Mac was based after “one fellow in
particular who was in that line of work, and who was experiencing the same
painful difficulty of extricating himself from it,” Towne recalled. He wrote
the role of Nick with Kurt Russell in mind and on then-L.A. Lakers head coach,
and close friend, Pat Riley, while also being inspired by a close friend who
was an undercover narcotics cop for the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department. He
initially wanted Riley to play the part because of the way he “very carefully
holds himself together – his necktie tight, his hair slicked back – so that he
looks like he’ll never come unglued, he never seems stressed.” Riley turned it
down and Alec Baldwin was considered before Towne decided to go with Kurt
Russell who he introduced to Riley and proceeded to adopt his look. Towne saw
Michelle Pfeiffer in Alan Alda’s Sweet
Liberty (1986) and liked the “disparity between public and private behavior”
in the role and cast her as Jo Ann.
Tequila Sunrise was financed independently
by Mount with a negative pick-up for Warner Bros. It was only Towne’s second
directorial effort, the first being Personal
Best, which was a notoriously difficult shoot that resulted in the
filmmaker liberating the negative of the picture while David Geffen said he
stole it. The studio had to step in and make peace between the two men. As a
result, Mount wanted to surround Towne with seasoned crew members and hired
Richard Sylbert to design Tequila Sunrise.
He had worked with Towne previously on Chinatown
and Shampoo (1975) and they were good
friends. Sylbert had also worked as a studio executive and, according to Mount,
“understood the process from top to bottom. So you were hiring, not a
production designer, not even a co-producer, you were hiring like this
Renaissance maniac who was your partner in the movie, in every way.”
To save
money on the $38 million budget, Sylbert found a large, old empty warehouse,
instead of a soundstage, in Santa Monica to house the production offices and
build sets. For the look of the film, Sylbert chose the colors of the Tequila
Sunrise drink and the Los Angeles sunset – gold, orange and red. According to
Mount, “Richard understood that the drink was the color key from the very
beginning.” Sylbert based Jo Ann’s restaurant on Valentino’s and Matteo’s, an
Italian restaurant in West L.A. It was built in the warehouse over eight weeks.
He also helped design the menu and chose the cuisine. Towne even brought in
Giuseppe Pasqualato, a former chef at Valentino’s to cook on set, which also
had a functioning bar.
Filming
began in February 1988 in the South Bay section of L.A. and lasted 68 days. Ten
days in, cinematographer Jost Vacano was fired as his gritty, realistic style
was not the tone Towne was after – rather a more romantic vibe. He called
Conrad Hall, his first choice that was nixed by the producer, and within 24
hours was on the set.
Tequila Sunrise received mixed to
negative reviews from critics at the time. Roger Ebert gave the film
two-and-a-half out of four stars and wrote, "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." In his review for The
New York Times, Vincent Canby wrote, "Here the problem seems to be the
fatal collaboration of a good writer with a director who wasn't strong or
overbearing enough to pull him up short. The movie has the fuzzy focus of
someone who has stared too long at a light bulb." The Los Angeles Times' Sheila Benson wrote, " It’s enough to send
you out of the theater thirsty. Unfortunately, it sends you out hungry too, for
a whole movie to offset this upscale grazing." In his review for the Washington Post's Hal Hinson wrote,
"In Tequila, the divisions
between business and pleasure, love and friendship break down, and the
breakers...do it beautifully, with sweet talk, tough talk and hot
kissing."
Tequila Sunrise was the box office
success Towne needed but he didn’t direct another film for ten years – Without Limits (1998). He kept busy, though,
thanks to a lucrative partnership with Tom Cruise, contributing several
screenplays for the movie star in the 1990s, including Days of Thunder (1990), The
Firm (1993), and Mission: Impossible
(1996). Tequila Sunrise is a fascinating
battle of wills. We have three highly intelligent people trying to figure out
each other’s motives. It becomes complicated when mixed with emotions as a love
triangle develops and clouds judgement. As one character says late in the film,
“Friendship is all we have! We chose each other!” This is a film about
friendship and loyalty. This is what motivates the three lead characters. Nick
tries to save Mac from getting killed or busted as the drug dealer is his
friend. Mac finds a way out of the drug dealing business as he loves Jo Ann.
She loves Mac and doesn’t want him to get hurt. For a neo-noir it is lacking
that fatalistic streak that runs through many of them. Towne is a little too
enamored with the romantic aspects of his script to convey a convincing doomed
protagonist that is a hallmark of the genre. Gibson’s Mac is a little too
slick, a little too sure himself for anything really bad to happen to him and
that is perhaps the film’s only glaring flaw in an otherwise wonderful,
sun-drenched cinematic cocktail.
SOURCES
Lazar,
Jerry. “Towne’s Country.” Chicago Tribune. December 4, 1988.
Mount, Thom. Audio Commentary. Tequila
Sunrise DVD. 1988.
Sylbert,
Richard & Sylvia Townsend. Designing
Movies: Portrait of a Hollywood Artist. Frager. 2006
Turan,
Kenneth. “Robert Towne’s Hollywood Without Heroes.” The New York Times.
November 27, 1988.