Tocaia no Deserto

My review was written in June 1988 after watching the movie on Republic Pictures video cassette.

In the midst of a trend of mismatched cop pics and tv shows, "Arizona Heat" presents a novel variation on the theme. Like filmmaker John Thomas' previous feature "Banzai Runner", this 1986 production is going direct-to-video Stateside, though both films mark him as ready for the big show.

Michael Parks toplines as Kapinski, an Arizona cop with a "manic" reputation due to the level of violence generated on his cases. His boss teams him up with female detective Jill Andrews (Denise Crosbly) who's a pretty but a tough cookie, and duo sets out to find the killer of a string of cops.

Key plot peg is that Jill turns out to be a lesbian, with Kapinski reacting predictably. What's unpredictable is that he goes to bed with her lovely, live-in girlfriend and the already battling partners are really at each other's throats when Jill finds out. Of course, a crisis unites them in the end.

Mystery plot isn't very interesting and the killer's identity is telegraphed from the outset, but director Thomas displays a wry sense of humor and enough odd details to keep the film interesting. Parks and Crosby team effectively, while the Phoenix and Scottsdale locations offer some novelty from the usual screen police beats. Music also helps, with pic atmospherically opening a la "Easy Rider" with Hoyt Axton's "The Pusher' performed by Steppenwolf and closing with Gary Stockdale's excellent out-theme "Caught in the Heat".

This flick has some quirky twists, with a plot of police chasing a murderer. It stars Michael Parks of 'Then Came Bronson' from 1969 TV. Denise Crosby delivers a good performance. She went on to star as Lt. Yarr on the inaugural season of Star Trek: the Next Generation. Good supporting actors, some were very quirky and some were just creepy. Hugh Farrington plays a police captain as he did on TV's TJ Hooker (starring William Shatner). Crosby plays a lesbian, not new, but in 1988, that was not a common topic. She is partnered with Parks and his character, of course, tries to hit on the lesbian. The result is thought provoking. This is a very watchable film. Be sure to sit still for the opening, it is pretty funny. It is a 'B' movie that never went to the theater but is certainly a good video pick for a group of friends.

Pairing up sexist cop, Michael Parks, with lesbian partner, Denise Crosby, produces stereotypical results, in this buddy cop movie. Parks enormous ego often gets in the way of logical police work. The psycho cop killer is so obvious from the git-go, that there is zero suspense. In addition to the requisite car chases and explosions, there are sexual innuendos flying all over the place, after Parks fails to seduce his new gay partner. There is just enough sexist dialog to keep the pathetically weak story mildly interesting. I cannot recommend sitting through this, except perhaps for dire fans of Michael Parks................ - MERK

This is no major studio production, and it definitely has the appearance of being low-budget. The opening scene, a minor action sequence, struggles with basic authenticity; I suppose it's fair to say that one produces "effects" by whatever means is available to them, but I can't help but wonder if the "lightning" we see a few minutes later was created by physically making jagged cuts into the film footage with an X-Acto knife. With the relatively few credits that John G. Thomas has under his belt in the industry, his comparative inexperience does come across here with direction that seems, shall we say, soft. It's also noteworthy that this seems to be the only credit for writer Daniel M. Colmerauer, and it very much shines through that he, too, came into this with no prior experience. Dialogue and scene writing is astondingly thin, as is the narrative - we can predict within minutes who the killer is going to turn out to be. We're treated to further excruciatingly blunt beats and plot development, like the moment that Kapinski and Andrews respond to a radio call relative to a location that's directly across the street from where they already are. Pair such unsubtle, flimsy writing with Thomas' mostly meager direction, and it's safe to say that 'Arizona Heat' is well short of a must-see blockbuster.

This isn't to say that the feature never had a chance to worthwhile. Elsewhere in the picture some of the action and stunts are kind of fun; there are scant instances of cleverness scattered about. Let's suppose for a moment that Thomas and Colmerauer just wanted to take a stab at the genre on their own terms and have fun with it, whatever that might mean. Even at that, though, to be frank it's at best a very baseline level of entertainment on hand. If we take the plot at face value the situation doesn't improve, for here we have the classic trope of a loudmouth, unlikable cop, with a reputation for recklessness on the job, assigned a partner who is theoretically his perfect foil and is supposed to rein him in. With all this firmly in mind - the plot, the writing at large, the direction - the cast only have so much to work with. Stars Michael Parks and Denise Crosby both have solid records; in this they are rather reduced to an unimpressive shade of what we've seen of them elsewhere. Other cast members in smaller parts faced even greater like difficulty.

All this is more than enough to shove 'Arizona Heat' into a small corner, no more than average and sadly not especially interesting. Unfortunately, that's not quite everything. Kapinski is a rotten person as written: crude, boorish, sexist, lacking empathy or seemingly any human decency. Like other supporting characters, though, he's also appallingly homophobic - a trait that is rather significant to this movie since, as any basic premise informs, new partner Andrews is a lesbian. In fairness, credit where it's due - the movie grants Andrews agency, hurling Kapinski's words back at him and pointedly countering the anti-gay nonsense that he spews, an echo of real-life bigotry. The screenplay puts clear effort into shutting down the myths, misinformation, and hostile verbiage with which queer folks are attacked, and this is certainly far better than I anticipated. Cynic that I am, I assumed the feature would double-down and broach awful 'Goldfinger' levels of homophobia; I'm pleased that it did not. On the other hand, the effort only goes so far. The flagrant abuse that the writing allows Kapinski to throw around is given disproportionate favor over Andrews' responses, the difference between a Labrador retriever and a house cat. I don't know what factors are behind that imbalance, or whether it's intentional or incidental, but the result is that even if it's not as ugly as one would fear, 'Arizona Heat' has a hard time escaping the vortex of the tired, antiquated "values" its worst characters are written with.

Once again to emphasize: this title actually is better than I thought it was going to be, if only in one specific way. Set this aside, and it's not abjectly terrible across the board; there is a modicum of enjoyment to be had, despite all its deficiencies and shortcomings. I can't imagine distinctly recommending it to anyone, but it possibly has the best chance at amusing diehard fans of Parks, Crosby, or others involved. Still, the fact remains that Thomas' direction and Colmerauer's writing are all too feeble, barely enough to even carry the movie forward; forget evincing meaningful excitement or thrills. If you happen to come across 'Arizona Heat,' well, one way or another it's an Experience. It's an Experience best reserved for the direly bored or extremely curious, however, and given the rancid behavior exhibited by one of its primary characters, a content warning may actually be appropriate. Watch if you like, but there are countless other works of cinema that are far more deserving of your time.

When you consider when this film was made, it may have been ahead of it's time. Michael Parks seems to get better and better. Nice ending.

I think some of the chase scenes in the desert were damn good. As good as some I've seen made since then with CGI and all that stuff to help.

True, the plot seems dated now, but it's still worth seeing. Denise Crosby actually acts in this one! And not too bad either.

Plus there's some awfully FUNNY lines too.

The music is done by the same guy who been doing music for Penn and Teller over the years.

It's worth a rental...if you can find it.