Themes: Work Ethics, Americans Abroad, Fish Out of Water
Main Cast: Eric Roberts, Greta Scacchi, Bill Kerr, Chris Haywood, Kris McQuade
Release Year: 1985
Country: US/AU
Run Time: 94 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
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. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
Review
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. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
Max Gillies - Frank; Tony Barry - Bushman; Paul Chubb - Fred; David Slingsby - Waiter; David Argue - Newspaper Vendor; Peter Armstrong - Security Guard; David Bracks - Santa; Gia Carides - Chambermaid; Colleen Clifford - Mrs. Haversham; Angelo D'Angelo - Projectionist; Steve Dodd - Mr. Joe; Ian Gilmour - Marjorie; Chris Hession - Santa; Jane Markey - Doris; Julie Nihill - Marching Girl; Rebecca Smart - DMZ; Ebsen Storm - Country Hotel Manager; Rikki Fataar - Rock Musician; Tim Finn - Philip; Paul Hester - Rock Musician; David Roe - Quarantine Officer; Adam Bowen - Flight Steward; Rex Goh - Rock Musician; Mark Moffatt - Rock Musician
Credit
Terry Ryan - Costume Designer, Dusan Makavejev - Director, John Scott - Editor, William Motzing - Composer (Music Score), Lesley Vanderwalt - Makeup, Graham "Grace" Walker - Production Designer, Dean Semler - Cinematographer, Sylvie Le Clezio - Producer, David Roe - Producer, Martin O'Neill - Set Designer, Mark Lewis - Sound/Sound Designer, Frank Moorhouse - Screenwriter
Becker, a hotshot American marketing executive (played by Roberts) from the Coca-Cola Company visits their Australian operations and tries to figure out why a tiny corner of Australia (the fictional town of Anderson Valley) has so far resisted all of Coke's products. He literally bumps into the very pretty secretary (played by Scacchi) who is assigned to help him.
Eventually Becker discovers that a local producer of soft drinks run by an old eccentric has been successfully fending off the American brand name products. The executive vows an all out marketing war with the eccentric but eventually comes to reconsider his role as a cog in Coca-Cola's giant corporate machinery. Along the way there are humorous subplots involving the office manager's violent ex-husband, Becker's attempt to find the 'Australian sound', and an odd waiter who is under the mistaken belief that Becker is a secret agent.
The band in the studio is led by Tim Finn; he sang the song in the commercial that has been overseen by Eric Roberts' character. Tim Finn is a star in his native New Zealand and in Australia. He is the brother of lead vocalist/guitarist Neil Finn of Crowded House. At the time the movie was filmed, Tim was a member of the popular band Split Enz with brother Neil, and after becoming romantically involved with the movie's leading lady, Greta Scacchi, he left the band and went solo.
