The Coca-Cola Kid

Amazon.com

Eric Roberts, young, charming, and handsome, does a rare comic turn as an American Coca-Cola executive with a honeyed Georgia drawl sent Down Under in this congenial little Australian comedy. As the zealous, unfailingly polite eccentric declares economic war on a veritable back-country feudal lord who runs his own steam-powered soda plant (Bill Kerr), Roberts's enchantingly goofy secretary (Greta Scacchi) plots a campaign of seduction that includes a Santa suit that explodes in an orgiastic blizzard of feathers. Yugoslavian director Dusan Makavejev (Montenegro), hardly known for romantic comedy, brings a surprisingly light touch to the comedy and a sweet sexiness to the offbeat love story. The script veers into scenes that make no sense and gets bogged down in the cola wars, but Makavejev buoys the film with unexpected turns, delightful moments of beauty and joy, and a genial, generous sense of humor. --Sean Axmaker

Description

Starring Academy AwardÂ(r) nominee* Eric Roberts (Runaway Train) and Emmy winner** Greta Scacchi (The Red Violin), this "wacky comedy" (Leonard Maltin) is full of clever fun, lighthearted romance, and an enchanting Aussie-American charm! "Abundantly rewarding" (Los Angeles Times) and "filled with moments of inspiration" (Roger Ebert), The Coca-Cola Kid celebrates both the Outback way of life and American pride! Ex-marine turned Coca-Cola marketing guru Becker (Roberts) is on a mission to boost sales in Australia when he discovers a dry spot in the Outback, where everyone is guzzling a homegrown brewand not a drop of his company's cola! Determined to pop the top off his competitor, Becker tries to reason with the crafty soda maker but ends upfalling for his free-spirited daughter (Scacchi) who really shakes things up. Will everything fizzle or end up in perfect harmony? The answer is a delightful blend of romance and comedy that's sure to refresh you! *Supporting Actor, Runaway Train (1985) **Supporting Actressin a Miniseries, "Rasputin" (1996)

Customer Reviews:

To bad for Coca-Cola!.......2007-01-16

I loved this very different film and have seen it several times. It is not for everyone but if you love a different story with some great music, this is for you. To bad Coca-Cola never made use of the jingle in the movie. If you don't fall in love with Greta Scacchi your heart is made of stone!

Response to Mr Tamm.......2006-07-10

I'm not making any comments about this film, as it's a long time since I last saw it, but I do want to register my objection to Mr Tamm's calling "Smash Palace" an Australian film. It was a New Zealand film, made in New Zealand, by a New Zealand director (Roger Donaldson), about New Zealand characters and starring mainly New Zealand actors (Bruno Lawrence, Greer Robson, Keith Aberdeen). It has no connection whatsoever with Australia. This is almost as bad as when Peter Jackson's third "Lord of the Rings" movie won all 11 academy Awards for which it was nominated, and after Billy Crystal had been making jokes all night about everyone in New Zealand having been thanked in the various acceptance speeches, the following morning a prominent US newspaper referred to Peter Jackson as "an Australian director"! We are NOT Australians!!!!

"Is this the Austrailian Sound?! I want the Austrailian sound!".......2005-11-02

First of all,

I highly recommend the review below, by the guy named "Sideburns." I think he captures the factual basis and spirit for this film. I can understand how some who are "Australia-philes" might want to see a purely Aussie product, and this is not that. It's not "Smash Palace" or many other fine Aussie films of that genre. What this film is, can be described in one word: WEIRD.

That's a good thing.

The genius of Eric Roberts used to be (and may still be again), his ability to seemingly lose himself in his roles, and do so while lacking any self-consciousness about how he comes across. To see this film and then see other excellent (and weird) films, including "The Pope of Greenwich Village" and "Runaway Train," is to see a career arc that was pretty amazing. He seemed to get into serious films with major talent around him, and then be able to carry-off demanding roles (albeit, some similar, sure), with energy and command.

Okay, onto this film. First of all, let's be honest, this is not a deep film. It's not meant to be. It is almost like an indie verson of a Farrely brothers film, at least their early ones, where they don't mind taking risks and also having fun. There's also a nice romantic subtext they had ("Kingpin" - believe it or not, "Me, Myself & Irene") where, in a ridiculous way, they reflect what's in a good majority of people who are either searching for love, or just searching for something in themselves, and they find it reflected or - in the case of the main characters in the Farrely films, and definitely in "Coca Cola Kid," abbetted by others. I'm not saying Woody Harrelson or Jim Carrey could've been the Coca Cola Kid, but what they all have in common, in the specific roles they played in these films, is to make one wonder if anyone would or could find anything remotely interesting about them in a romantic way. They are so completely un-indearing, it seems almost cartoonish - and then one just thinks of many people we all know, and it's not that unbelieavable.

The music in the film alone is just fantastic. The Coca Cola jingle Robert's character commissions is incredible, and it's punctuated by this aboriginal guy who is playing his device - a guy Roberts finds outside the Coca Cola local offices, and promptly drafts into service. It's just really funny to see The Kid's mind work - marketing wheels a'spinnin' as he devises and employs his strategies. Everyone on both sides is equally mocked, and that makes for a really fine, mostly non-judgemental film (rare these days, eh?).

There are other nice touches in the soundtrack and
also, I'd be remiss, not to mention NUTS, if I avoided the very nice scene of Greta Scaatchi where she's freshening up...well, go see the film!

It's quirky, it's revealing, and a lot of fun. It also does a great job of discussing culture clashes, where, when everyone is harmless, you can see how progress comes out of a some dissension, yet still wonder if we're losing a little something in the translation. If that's vague, so's the film in some ways, and I think that is precisely what the director was going for. It doesn't all have to fit perfectly. A lot doesn't, and that makes it kind of seem real.

You must understand about the ice.......2005-10-19

This movie did not replay quite as well as I'd hoped after viewing when it first came out on tape to now. But it still holds some very entertaining moments and Eric Roberts proves that he really is a terrific actor. The director, who also made Sweet Movie, has a bizarre sense of humor, in this case you must make to the very end to find the twist.

The US and Australia Rules!!!.......2004-06-17

This is a great movie about an american coca-cola executive trying to invade a difficult sales district down under.Australia and the US rules!!!

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