DTHOmnibus Thursday, December 8, 19889
thickens
like mud
in Sunrise5
The plot
By JAr.'ZS DEAN
Staff writer
There really hasnt been a good
thriller out In ages. Recently, James .
Cameron's "Aliens" is the only
movie that has had me sitting on
the edge of my seat with my mind
racing. But that was set in another
time and another place. "No Way
Out" almost did the same, but was
spoiled by an unbelievably stupid
ending. Both these films were a
while ago now. Last year's only
offering was Roman Polanski's
pseudo-Hitchcockian "Frantic,"
which, in spite of some astonishing
critical praise, was as bad and
embarrassing as any film I have
ever seen.
For a writer, Robert Towne, the
director of Tequila Sunrise, has
a reputation in Hollywood that is
more or less unparalleled, even
though he has not made a film for
six years "Personal Best" was
his last effort and the works
that made him famous; "China
town" and "Shampoo," are almost
15 years old now. He made "Chi
natown" with Polanski, and even
today it looks as fresh and exciting
as any film around. Towne's exem
plary screenplay and Polanski's
direction were more or less flaw
less, and together they produced
one of the most clever and stylish
thrillers of ail time. But that was
clearly a while ago. Before he made
"Tequila Sunrise" Towne visited
Polanski in Paris to help him with
the script for "Frantic" Clearly to
no avail
On the face of it, "Tequila Sun
rise" seems to have the potential
to be a great thriller. Written by
Towne. the plot promises to be
both well-written and intricate,
and the cast brings together the
attractive and not untalented
combination of Mel Gibson,
Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt RusselL
Unfortunately, the film never gets
close to fulfilling its potential
Towne's plot simply tries to be
too clever for its own good. He
spends so much time developing
ambiguities and red herrings that
he forgets that the key to any
thriller is to create tension.
His story revolves around two
high school buddies. Nick Freesher
(Kurt Russell) and Dale McKussic
(Mel Gibson), who have remained
friends despite the fact that
Freesher is a cop and McKussic is
a big-time drug dealer. This friend
ship is further strained when
Freesher has instructions to arrest
McKussic for his drug dealings.
Without sufficient evidence, how
ever, Freesher is required merely
to obtain information from him
about a shipment of drugs coming
in from a big dealer in Mexico, in
an attempt to get closer to his
clandestine activites, Freesher
befriends the hostess of McKussiCs
favorite restaurant (Michelle
Pfeiffer), since he suspects that she
is collaborating with him.
Forgive me if this is boring and
overly complicated, but so was the
film. Towne tries so hard to
develop the backgrounds of the
charcters and make sure that he
gives them some breadth, that he
more or less suspends the action
after the initial chase sequence.
The story really could have been
exciting it just never takes off.
Towne leaves too much unsaid and
unexplained without making dear
what is and is not important, and
without ultimately incorporating
everything into the final condu
sioa He falls to show an important
character being killed, and he
barely even refers to the failure
of a crucial set-up created to
capture McKussic
On the flip side, he gives undue
importance to irrelevant details,
which simply enhances the confu
sion of the plot unnecessarily. It's
ail very well being dever, but you
have to let someone in on what
you're being dever about.
Towne also fails to establish a
consistent mood and direction for
the film. He tries to balance the
intricacies of the story with twists
of humor, but they dont work. At
one stage, the police are surround
ing McKussirt house in an attempt
to capture the Mexican drugs
leader at a "party" that they've
heard about, when a whole load
of kids run out into the garden
with balloons and party hats. It
turns out that it's McKussic's son's
birthday party. This really could
have been funny, .but Towne
flattens the joke by staying at the
party for about 15 minutes, while
McKussic gives out hot dogs, and
the cops stand around looking
stupid and wondering what to do
next.
By the time the climax arrives,
the damage is done. Towne man
ages to weave in a few more plot
twists, which again fail to create
the impact they should, and then
makes a mess of the action to such
an extent that it becomes more
confusing than exdting. His over
concern with the sensibilities of
the characters destroys the pro
gression of the film, which no
amount of exploding speedboats
can bring back to life.
Irrthe lead roles, Russell, Gibson
and Pfeiffer work well together.
All three are a cut above, most
mainstream Hollywood stars.
They develop their characters
consistently, and their eventual
sho tcomings are as much the
faut of the script as anything.
Towne does manage to leave
some imprint on the film. Once it
gets going, his sparkling dialogue
is a joy to listen to. Also, some of
the scenes, especially the conver
sation between McKussic and
Freesher on the swings with the
sunset in the background, are
beautifully filmed. But neither of
these aspects can redeem the
emptiness of the rest of the film.
And it is a shame. "Tequila
Sunrise" really should have been a
good film, it had the cast, it had
the writer, and it had a potentially
thrilling story. Just like "China
town," actually. "Chinatown,"
however, was well-directed, and
permanent tension for the
audience by raising intriguing
questions and answering them at
the right time. Of "Tequila Sunrise,"
this cannot be said.
The Naked Gun' has silly aim
By LESLEY BARTLETT
Staff Writer
Fans of "Police Squad" will be
thrilled to discover The Naked
Gun, a recently released movie,
which continues in the slapstick
tradition of the television series,
the movie focuses , on Lt. Frank
Drebin. still played by the polished,
silver-haired Leslie Nielsen. Any
success of the film should be
credited to Nielsen, who submits
his usual comical performance.
The movie suffers mainly from
discontinuity. Four writers, Jerry
Zucker, Jim Abrahams, David
Zucker and Pat Proft collaborated
on the script and, judging from the
finished product, each wrote
separate parts and then patched
them together. The result forms
a single, disjointed story. The first
five minutes of the movie follow
Lt. Drebin as he demolishes an
international terrorist ring. The
next 25 minutes concentrate on
a police officer who is shot at the
docks in Los Angeles during a
thwarted heroin bust. The
remainder of the film focuses on
the "Police Squad " spedfically on
Drebin, as he struggles to protect
Queen Elizabeth II from an assas
sination attempt during her visit
to Los Angeles. The story lines are
incredibly tangential. If you do
venture out to see this film, dont
expect to find a clever, or even
clear, plot.
Likewise, "The Naked Gun" should
not be seen by anyone unwilling
to check his refined mind at the
front door. The bulk of the humor
is derived from crude jokes about
biological functions and parts of
the anatomy, which eventually
become quite irritating. The jokes
are stale, and, even in Nielsen's
capable hands, they cant be pulled
off.
The script naturally indudes the
stock dumb blonde, played by
Priscilla Presley, who serves as
Drebin's love interest. To her
credit, Presley does a good job
with the flat character she is
given, although it's obvious that
she lacks Nielsen's experience with
comedy.
But if you're willing to overlook
these less-than-creative stabs at
humor, the movie does contain
some genuinely funny lines, in one
scene, Lt Drebin brags that he shot
five deviants dressed in togas who
were violently stabbing a man in
the park, only to be reminded by
the mayor that, in reality, he had
shot five actors in the middle of
a Shakespeare in the Park rendi
tion of "Julius Ceasar." Although
this scene is minor and is executed
with little effort, it perfectly
illustrates what Nielsen can do
with a fresh, original script.
The final 20 minutes of the
movie are equally hilarious with
Drebin disguised as an umpire at
a California Angels baseball game.
He attempts to uncover the
Queen's prospective assassin by
frisking the players as they step
to the plate. Nielsen's animated
acting and particularly his fadal
expressions really bring life to this
part otthe fiira ....
in general, "The Naked Gun" does
not live up to its predecessors.
Jerry Zucker, Abrahams and David
Zucker previously combined their
efforts on both "Airplane" and
"Ruthless People" with positive,
effective results. Conversely, their
current endeavor seems little
more than a series of sketches
which barely relate to each other.
This lack of continuity couid be
pardoned if the main focus of the
film, the humor, benefitted from
it. But the humor itself is not
sustained consistently through
out the film, and actually suffers
more when the story line is
undear.
Once the plot is settled, there
are moments when the movie
shines, but these moments are too
few to consider the movie an
overall success.
miYC Top 20
1. Sonic Voutfi
2 Nick Cave and
the Bad Seeds
3. Waterboys
4. Dinosaur Jr.
5. Downsiders
6 time Spiders
7. FLEJtfL
S. Fairground Attraction
9. Lilac Time
10, Go Betweens
U. Julian Cope
12. Scrawl
13. Penelope Houston
14. Danielle Dax
15. Scruffy the Cat
16 KteOiPPer
XT. The Scene is Now
18. Steve Ear Je
19. Squalls,
20. Sound Garden
Daydream Nation
Tender Prey
Fisherman's Blues
Bug
AH My Friends are Fish
Volatile
Green
The First of a Million Hisses
Lilac Time
16 Cover Line
My Nation Underground
He's Drunk
Bird Boy
Dark Adopted Eye
Moons of Jupiter
Craps
Tonicht We Ride
Copperhead Raod
No Time
Ultramesa OK
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