The Coca Cola Kid (1985)

44% of critics liked it
(16 reviews)
35% of users liked it
(1,290 ratings)

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… More 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, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 34 min.
Directed By: Dusan Makavejev
Genres: Drama, Art House & International, Comedy

In Theaters: Jul 14, 1985 Wide
On DVD: Apr 16, 2002

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff, Variety
Yhe mix of earthy symbolism, offbeat eroticism, the picaresque and the rough-and-tumble social, rather unpolitical satire now seems poured from a bottle that has been left uncapped overnight.
Janet Maslin, New York Times
The film's cutting edge is never very keen.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
An oddball comedy that is particularly well-timed to coincide with the current Coke marketing circus.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
[A] mild, uneven social satire.
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
The satire is peculiarly fizzless
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
The film that has spread the director's political message to the widest audience.
, Time Out
A plot that goes AWOL in the interests of true love, and Roberts, as the kid from Coke, who is well on his way to becoming the world's worst actor.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
A zany look at the competitive ethos of an aggressive corporation.
, Film4
A complete mess, but so benign it's rather hard to take offence.
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
The first half is far better than the resolution, which eventually meanders off to the point of silliness.

Read all 10 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

AJ V

A strange, quirky, yet predictable comedy, romance, adventure in Australia. I half like it and half hate it, so it's okay.

Cast

            Eric Roberts as Becker

            Greta Scacchi as Terri

            Bill Kerr as T. George McDowell

            Chris Haywood as Kim

            Kris McQuade as Juliana

            Max Gillies as Frank

            Tony Barry as Bushman

            Paul Chubb as Fred

            David Slingsby as Waiter

            David Argue as Newspaper Vendor

            Peter Armstrong as Security Guard

            David Bracks as Santa

            Gia Carides as Chambermaid

            Colleen Clifford as Mrs. Haversham

            Angelo D'Angelo as Projectionist

            Steve Dodd as Mr. Joe

            Ian Gilmour as Marjorie

            Chris Hession as Santa

            Jane Markey as Doris

            Julie Nihill as Marching Girl

            Rebecca Smart as DMZ

            Ebsen Storm as Country Hotel Manager

            Rikki Fataar as Rock Musician

            Tim Finn as Philip

            Paul Hester as Rock Musician

            David Roe as Quarantine Officer

            Adam Bowen as Flight Steward

            Rex Goh as Rock Musician

            Mark Moffatt as Rock Musician
See full cast