Rating: 
Summary: One of my all time favorites
Review: Great cult flick with a counter culture message. Greta Scacchi is scrumptious in the Santa outfit. I wish there were a way to get a hold of this flick.
Rating:
Summary: Good example of Australian black humor.
Review: Great sound track and gorgeous views of the Australian outback. You don't see films made much anymore with this kind of theme. The litle girl in this should have won a best actress award somewhere. I fell in love with Greta on first viewing and I haven't stopped. A must see for movie buffs. I loaned mine out and can't get it back. When will it be produced again (DVD!)?
Rating: 
Summary: "Don't wanna go where there's no Coca-Cola...!"
Review: I have been an Australophile forever; if there was one decade that really brought Australia's best side for the rest of the world to see, it had to be the 1980's; the pop music from Down Under during that time was among the best in the world, and the movies from Australia have a wonderful sense of the country that make them far more representative of itself than other movies from other countries...you see an Australian movie and you just KNOW: "That's Australia".
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It may be hard to believe now, but there was once a time when Eric Roberts was much better-known than his sister Julia; this time parallels the time in Eric's career when he actually made good movies, like this one, f'rinstance.
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This movie is very enjoyable in its quirkiness...Eric Roberts is terrific as an ex-United States Marine Corps, Southern-fried Gordon Gecko (Roberts, like his sister Julia, is from Smyrna, GA, so he does come by the accent naturally) who eats, sleeps, and breathes Coca-Cola and is sent by the Corporate hotshots to find out why in one remote corner of the Australian outback (redundancy, anyone?) no Coca-Cola is sold. The reason, it turns out, is the local Cola Baron (played by Australian cinema standard Bill Kerr...check him out in another great Aussie flick, "Gallipoli") who produces terrific cola virtually by hand and with it has won an almost cult-like devotion by the locals.
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Greta Scacchi (who really does look like Susan Sarandon's kid sister in this movie) is the somewhat dizzy secretary with an on-again, off-again ex-husband and a beautiful wee daughter (who calls herself "DMZ", as in neutral territory where her parents can't fight) who starts attempting to seduce Roberts from his first day in Austalia. She may or may not have a motive to her madness, and it can at times be painful watching her attempts, but this is an enjoyable movie for someone who may not necessarily enjoy romantic comedies per se; and as a native Atlantan, I particularly enjoyed Roberts' monologue on the virtues of his product ("...the SOUND...of COKE")...made me want to pop one open on the spot.
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And I PROMISE you will NOT be able to get that Tim Finn (former Split Enz, technically New Zealanders, but who's counting) Coca-Cola jingle out of your head after watching this!
Rating:
Summary: Very enjoyable wacky Australian comedy
Review: I originally viewed this movie in the 80s and had positive feelings about the story and the cast. When the DVD release became available I purchased and viewed it again. I enjoyed it even more. This is the story of a coca-cola trouble shooter and an independent pop producer in Australia and the Coca-cola man's (Kid)effort to have coca-cola expand into the market area of the independent brand.Doen't sound funny but it is. It is funny and although there is nudity and sexual content,it is a gentle and sweet movie with abundant humor.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Aussie Film
Review: I saw this back about 1986 when I was in the Army. Have been looking for it for the past 5 years.
Rating:
Summary: Tastes Like Cherry Cola.
Review: I walked into this movie on a suggestion from my father. I was skeptical. A movie bout Coca Cola? With Eric Roberts? I thought he was dead.The movie begans in Atlanta, Georgia, which is the headquarters of the world's most popular carbonated drink company. The big-dogs of Coke began to look over their sales charts and they realize there is one particular part of Autralia where there product isn't selling.
So, they send out their best sales-man and persuader, of whom the movie is titled after. Suffice to say that the plot becomes more complicated once he arrives in a very small town in the Outback. There is some surprisingly excellent music, and Eric Robert gives a very good preformance, feigning an Atlanta accent amazingly well. It is a funny movie, and has a very large 80's feel to it. (Take a look at 'Local Hero' and 'The Gods Must Be Crazy' - they both have the same feel.) For these reasons, I give this movie five stars and would suggest it, as my father did to me, to anyone who likes a laugh.
Rating:
Summary: A training manual on cultural differences
Review: I was fortunate enough to view this movie before trying to expand my business into Australia. It helped me avoid a number of mistakes. I realize it wasn't meant to be a training film, but it sure worked for me. Now, if only, I could find that distinctly Australian sound!
Rating:
Summary: A training manual on cultural differences
Review: I was fortunate enough to view this movie before trying to expand my business into Australia. It helped me avoid a number of mistakes. I realize it wasn't meant to be a training film, but it sure worked for me. Now, if only, I could find that distinctly Australian sound!
Rating:
Summary: A hidden gem of a movie
Review: I watched this movie when I was on my Greta Scacchi binge. It fared well against the others considering they included Jefferson in Paris and The Red Violin. It is like others have said, pleasingly wacky.
Eric Roberts is one of those actors I love to hate (along with Banderas and Gere) because of his gratingly arrogant manner. But he grew on me (like a wart) in this movie, as the sold-out Coca-Cola marketing man with a mission Down Under. It was funny seeing the disclaimer at the beginning of the movie that this does not represent Coke's actual tactics.
Scacchi is appealing as the pretty but inept secretary who throws herself at Roberts and has a secret related to the cola wars. Smalltown Australia is depicted in much the manner I have come to expect, with a bunch of oddball characters thrown in.
Rating: 
Summary: "Speaking of the significance of personal disorder..."
Review: In the film, "The Coca-Cola Kid," Becker (Eric Roberts) is a 'trouble-shooter' with Coca-Cola. Becker arrives from America, and the heads of the Australian office of Coca-Cola are advised by corporate headquarters to listen to Becker. Becker, apparently, has the Midas touch and manages to double or triple sales wherever he goes. Becker is given an office, and a secretary (Greta Scacchi), and he proceeds to try and learn all he can about the Australian market for soft drinks. He learns very quickly that there is one area in Australia where absolutely no Coca-Cola is sold. Here in the Anderson Valley, eccentric factory owner T.George McDowell manufactures and distributes his own brand of soft drink. Becker attempts to beef up sales in Australia and contact McDowell, but Becker's smooth behaviour and corporate strategies really get him nowhere. I love Australian films. The problem is finding them. A handful make it to video rental, and so when I found this film on Amazon, I was thrilled. The reviews were glowing, and so I ordered a copy. However, I have to say that "The Coca-Cola Kid" is probably the most disappointing Australian film I've ever seen. To me, it seemed very dated (more like a 70s film), and while it had a very promising start, my interest dwindled after Becker's trip to the Anderson Valley. I think I was hoping for an Australian version of "Local Hero." Australian films can never be mistaken for anything other than Australian--their world view is so unique, but in my opinion, this could have been a film set in America--or anywhere else for that matter. The fact it was Australian was really beside the point. The plot lost intensity and direction about half way through, the characters were dull, and the film never really captured my interest--displacedhuman.
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