The Coca-Cola Kid
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