The Coca-Cola Kid [Blu-ray]

Director: Dusan Makavejev Dusan Makavejev

Overview

The ugly American bullying his way through a foreign country was a subject for comedy in several films of the 1980s, most notably Bill Forsyth's Local Hero and this film from exiled Yugoslavian director Dusan Makavejev. Eric Roberts plays Becker, an aggressive marketing executive for the Coca-Cola Company; he has been assigned to figure out why sales in hot and dry Australia aren't higher. Becker comes up against a low-key but formidable adversary, T. George McDowell (Bill Kerr), whose homegrown soda has cornered the market in his little corner of the country. Complicating matters is Terri, a local woman (Greta Scacchi) Becker hires as his secretary; she's McDowell's daughter and a single mom who's romantically attracted to the brash American. Becker wants to make a deal on his (and his employer's) terms, but he finds himself falling prey to the charms of life Down Under and the ministrations of Terri.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/28/2022
UPC:	0814456025179
Original Release:	1985
Rating:	R
Source:	Fun City Editions
Language:	English
Time:	1:38:00
Sales rank:	18,517

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Eric Roberts	Becker
Greta Scacchi	Terri
Bill Kerr	T. George McDowell
Rebecca Smart	DMZ
Chris Haywood	Kim
Kris McQuade	Juliana
Max Gillies	Frank Hunter
Tony Barry	Bushman
David Slingsby	Waiter
Tim Finn	Philip
Colleen Clifford	Mrs. Haversham
Esben Storm	Country Hotel Manager,Country Hotel Manager
Steve Dodd	Mr. Joe
Ian Gilmour	Marjorie
David Argue	Newspaper Vendor
Ricky Fataar	Rock Musician,Rock Musician
Mark Moffatt	Rock Musician
Paul Hester	Rock Musician
Rex Goh	Rock Musician
Paul Chubb	Fred
Julie Nihill	Marching Girl
Jane Markey	Doris
Angelo D'Angelo	Projectionist
Gia Carides	Chambermaid
David Bracks	Santa
Chris Hession	Santa
Peter Armstrong	Security Guard
David Roe	Quarantine Officer
Adam Bowen	Flight Steward
William Motzing	Composer

Technical Credits

Frank Moorhouse

Dusan Makavejev	Director
Sylvie Le Clezio	Producer
David Roe	Producer
Les Lithgow	Executive Producer
Frank Moorhouse	Screenwriter
Mark Lewis	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Arguably Dusan Makavejev's most accessible and entertaining film, The Coca-Cola Kid is a genial comedy with a rare light performance by Eric Roberts, whose subsequent roles devolved largely into villains and psychotics. Makavejev plays off Roberts' clenched line readings to suggest that here is a man who just needs a little loosening up, and he'll be okay. In fact, Roberts' Becker is a distant cousin to Susan Anspach's uptight American in Makavejev's most popular film, Montenegro. The Coca-Cola Kid also pokes fun at the Australians, too; if Becker is wound a bit too tight, they're shown as making a fetish out of being laid-back. Their "no worries mate" philosophy does begin to loosen up Becker, and it helps to have a sexy woman (Greta Scacchi in her second important film after a stunning debut in Heat and Dust) as the bait. The film may not be as textured and consistently entertaining as Local Hero, but it's got fizz enough.

All Movie Guide - Tom Wiener