Movies of the 80s & 90s "Tequila Sunrise"

Written by: Luc Saber

September 28, 2024 

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Are you a screenwriter or filmmaker ready for some entertainment this weekend but overloaded with superhero movies packed with computer-generated special effects and stories about vehicles and machines taking on human qualities? 

Are you a screenwriter looking for some down-to-earth inspiration? Are you looking to watch compelling, complex, and flawed characters that actually resemble human beings facing life struggles, failures, and triumphs? If you’re ready to take a journey into a world that actually makes sense? Let’s take a moment to travel back through time and consider stories of the nineteen eighties and nineties. 

As a filmmaker who was heavily influenced by the movies of the eighties and nineties, I must admit that my opinion of a good story may be a bit biased. However, this perspective allows me to offer valuable insights into the style and substance of the films of that time period.

Being a filmmaker myself, I've always believed in the power of positivity. I’ll never criticize another filmmaker’s efforts, regardless of the genre or their style of filmmaking. Making feature films is a huge undertaking and I congratulate anyone who dares to dive into this competitive  industry regardless of their creative style. If I don’t have anything positive to say, I won’t say anything. But thankfully, I can always find an enormous amount of positive and exciting elements in every story and production. There’s more than an ample amount of negativity in the world in which we exist and I’d like for this segment of Aspiring Hollywood to be a feel-good experience, a temporary oasis that features the incredible skills, talent, and creativity of some of the most impressive filmmakers of our time.

I’d like to bring to focus a movie that has remained in my subconscious for decades. It’s a film that stuck with me because of the writer’s ability to create incredible characters. Robert Towne created these wonderful creatures on the page and then brought them to life on screen, delivering a wonderfully delightful and entertaining film that is believable and definitely plausible. 

I’m talking about the 1988 release of “Tequila Sunrise,” starring Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kurt Russel, and Raul Julia among a star-studded and talented cast. 

The story revolves around two friends whose lives took different turns after one of them was arrested for smoking pot while on vacation in Mexico. The other one, Nick, played by Kurt Russel, escaped the arrest,  returned home to Los Angeles where he eventually joined the LA County Sheriff’s Department and rose through the ranks to Lieutenant of the LA County Narcotics Division. His best friend Mac, the one who got arrested on the Mexican beach, played by Mel Gibson, ended up serving two years in a Mexican prison where he met and befriended a  prominent drug dealer which led to Mac himself becoming a very successful drug dealer in L.A. County. 

I’m sure you can already see how Mr. Towne created a conflict between these two characters right from the beginning. Two best friends with two different fates, one ends up being a cop and the other a criminal. Even this early on in the story, the characters are interesting to watch, and given the flawless performances of Kurt Russel and Mel Gibson, the characters came across as believable, possessing human qualities, good and bad, flawed and unsavory, as well as emotional and heartbreaking. 

In the first few minutes of the movie, Mr. Towne is able to masterfully draw the audience in and perhaps gave the audience the opportunity to evaluate the characters and decide which of the two they were going to root for— the by-the-book cop who would eventually employ immoral tactics to solve the case, or the gentle, but tough, love-stricken drug dealer who left that life of crime but was drawn back in by unavoidable life circumstances? In other words, his past caught up with him.

For the screenwriters out there, this is a great opportunity for inspiration and a lesson in how to create conflict that’s not forced, compelling characters and the world in which the characters exists. 

I can imagine the writer of Tequila Sunrise, Mr. Towne, asking the what if question. What if there was a sensitive, but tough and rough around the edges drug dealer that was forced into a world of crime by unavoidable life circumstance? What would happen next? And what if there was a childhood best friend in this flawed person’s life who was now on the other side of the law, forced to confront his best friend and possibly put him in prison? 

Asking the “what if?” question is a great way to start the creative process, but in this case the writer didn’t stop with the conflict between the two best friends. He went on to create another storyline involving a love interest.

That’s when the Jo Ann character, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, who is a successful restaurant owner and Mac’s crush, enters the story. Perhaps it’s more than a crush. Mac seems to be head over heels in love with her, but in the beginning she’s clueless to how Mac feels for her. As it turns out she ends up spending a weekend with Nick causing Mac a lot of grief and a broken heart. This sensitive and human emotion which everyone felt at some point in their lives makes Mac a likable character with which audiences can identify.

The love triangle continues to evolve and other situations, twists and turns are introduced making for a complex and compelling love story in the midsts of a narcotics investigation and the feud that takes place between the two leading men.

What had a long-lasting impression on me was the mastery of dialogue. The words were as smooth as silk, and these masterful actors delivered them effortlessly, naturally, and believably. 

I won’t go into more detail about the story, because I’m sure it will be a treat for you to watch the film, especially if you’re a filmmaker, you’ll appreciate the style and techniques Mr. Towne implemented to make this story great. 

If you are a director, I encourage you to watch the film for the entertainment value first and then, if you have the time, watch it a again with the sound turned off. It will help you focus on how the director told the story through shot composition, choice of lighting, and even color scheme. Speaking of color, the cinematography is something to pay attention to. The images were picture-perfect, and there was one in particular that I found superb. Keep an eye out for the sunset beach scene where Nick and Mac are on the swings discussing their very dangerous life situation. The swings rendered the scene and the characters innocent. It was reminiscent of two pre-teen boys on a swing set talking about a hobby or something that happened in school or on the playground. Placing the two heavily flawed, gun carrying, adult characters on a set of swings gave the story a moment of calmness and civility and it solidified the deep childlike relationship between the two characters, and it justified the sacrifices they were each going to make for each other and the people they loved.

So, if you’re looking for an entertaining, smart story with clever dialogue and compelling characters that is a testament to the craft of filmmaking, I recommend “Tequila Sunrise.”

Enjoy, and tune in next time for another episode of “Aspiring Hollywood.”