#1,816. High Rolling in a Hot Corvette (1977) - Spotlight on Australia

Directed By: Igor Auzins

Starring: Joseph Bottoms, Grigor Taylor, Wendy Hughes



Tag line: "They're Wild, Outrageous and Lovable!"

Trivia: Actress Judy Davis was still a drama student when she appeared in this picture









A buddy comedy from Down Under, High Rolling in a Hot Corvette stars Joseph Bottoms as Tex, an American who, as the movie opens, is working at a traveling carnival. When he is fired for having sex on the job (with a pretty blonde played by Christine Amor), Tex convinces his good pal Alby (Grigor Taylor), a boxer, to tag along with him on the open road.

With Australia’s Gold Coast as their ultimate destination, the two amigos hitch a ride with Arnold (John Clayton), who drives a green corvette. At a roadside motel (where the three have stopped for the night), Arnold makes the mistake of sexually propositioning Alby, who proceeds to knock him cold. In a panic, Tex and Alby skip out on the unconscious Arnold, only to find a case filled with money, as well as a stash of marijuana, in the trunk of his corvette.

So Tex and Alby decide to live it up a little. Along the way, they befriend Lynn (Judy Davis), a 16-year-old hitchhiker; and hook up with a pair of lounge singers (Wendy Hughes and Sandy McGregor), all as Arnold and his “pals” are trying to track them down, anxious to recover what was stolen from them.

Marking the screen debut of Judy Davis, who two years later would win a BAFTA for her performance in Gillian Armstrong’s My Brilliant Career), High Rolling in a Hot Corvette is a road movie that, at least figuratively, never actually goes anywhere. The story is as light as they come, as are many of the situations the two leads get themselves into. A scene set in a nightclub, where Tex tries to impress the singers and is roughed up by a bouncer, is as close as the film gets to a dramatic moment. Almost as unremarkable as the story are the lead characters, neither of whom are particularly likable. In the final act, they attempt a robbery, and never once did I find myself rooting for them to pull it off.

Part of the issue stems from the performances. Intended as a free spirit, Joseph Bottoms’ Tex instead comes across as obnoxious, and Grigor Taylor’s Alby isn’t all that bright. But even this could have been overlooked had the pair been given something interesting to do.

High Rolling in a Hot Corvette isn’t all bad. Judy Davis (still in drama school when the movie was made) breathes life into the role of Lynn. The scenes in which she is featured are the film’s best. And the opening sequence set in the carnival gets things off to a promising start. I especially enjoyed the boxing match between Alby and one of the carnival’s patrons. Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there. An hour after High Rolling in a Hot Corvette ended, I was already starting to forget it.