Tequila Sunrise is a 1988 American romantic crime film written and directed by Robert Towne, and starring Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell, with Raul Julia, J. T. Walsh, Arliss Howard and Gabriel Damon in supporting roles.

One period reviewer was of the opinion that, "perhaps because the elements were so irresistible—Robert Towne directing Gibson, Russell and Pfeiffer in a California crime film—an aura of disappointment settled over Tequila Sunrise, no matter how engaging, and profitable, it turned out to be.

His close friend Nick Frescia is a Detective Lieutenant with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department who, in spite of their long-term relationship going back to high school, is duty-bound to bring Mac to justice if he should sell drugs again, as DEA Agent Hal Maguire believes to be the case.

Jo Ann accuses Nick of using her to gather information on Mac, who often eats at her restaurant and hired her to cater his son's birthday party.

Maguire shows up and begins shooting, hitting an already dead Carlos in the face, and then at Mac as he is raising his hands to surrender.

Before filming commenced, actors attached to the lead male roles included Harrison Ford, Alec Baldwin, Nick Nolte, and Jeff Bridges.

The expensive menswear and slicked-back hair sported by Kurt Russell's character, Detective Lieutenant Nick Frescia, was modelled upon Pat Riley.

"[2] The famous love scene between Mel Gibson and Michelle Pfeiffer takes place in a hot tub, that was reportedly not properly constructed or chlorinated, resulting in skin rashes and splinters for the actors and their body doubles, and causing production to halt for a few days.

Director Robert Towne wanted the Gibson character to go up in smoke at the end of the film, but one of the conditions Warner Bros. set was that he must live.

[citation needed] Critics commented both positively and negatively upon the labyrinthine nature of the complex plot, characteristic of earlier Robert Towne screenplays such as Chinatown.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that "Tequila Sunrise weaves a tangled web, and there are times when we are not sure what is happening, or why.

"[6] However, Time Out wrote that the "set-up has the precision of fine needlepoint, picking out the plot outline before embroidering it with a complex pattern of interwoven relationships.

"[7] Variety praised each of the lead performances—"Gibson projects control skating atop paranoia, and is appealing as a man you'd want to trust.