Cocaine: One Man's Seduction (1983)

A real estate salesman with career and marriage problems gets hooked on cocaine, and finds that not only does it not help him cope with them, but it makes them much, much worse.

Director:

Paul Wendkos

Writers:

David Goldsmith (story), Barry Schneider (story),

Stars:

Dennis Weaver, Karen Grassle, Pamela Bellwood

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dennis Weaver	...	Eddie Gant
Karen Grassle	...	Barbara Gant
Pamela Bellwood	...	Robin Barstowe
James Spader	...	Buddy Gant
David Ackroyd	...	Bruce Neumann
Jeffrey Tambor	...	Mort Broome
Richard Venture	...	Dan Hatten
Dennis Howard	...	Jack Brayler
Ted Le Plat	...	Tad Voss (as Ted LePlat)
Dennis Robertson	...	Stu
Terry Wills	...	Zacker
Kieu Chinh	...	Mrs. Marchais
Denise Crosby	...	Teller
Bill Dearth	...	Bob
Stephen Keep Mills	...	Emergency Room Doctor (as Stephen Keep)

Storyline

A real estate salesman with career and marriage problems gets hooked on cocaine, and finds that not only does it not help him cope with them, but it makes them much, much worse.

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Plot Keywords:

real estate | cocaine | salesman

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 February 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cocain

Company Credits

Production Co:

Charles Fries Productions, David Goldsmith Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

An After School Special!

A real estate salesman (Dennis Weaver) with career and marriage problems gets hooked on cocaine, and finds that not only does it not help him cope with them, but it makes them much, much worse.

What is not to love about this film? We have a young James Spader and a drug-addicted Jeffrey Tambor. That already makes it good no matter what happens. And then we get to learn about the evils of peer pressure! What we end up finding out is that cocaine causes you to make "lewd offers" to your spouse and encourages you to re-arrange your spices. While not an "after school special", it was a made-for-TV movie that was clearly designed to show how cocaine use can spiral out of control.

I have never used cocaine and probably never will. But films like this are not what make me steer clear. In fact, I found this film humorous in a strange way. Not that it was inaccurate -- it is probably very close to the truth. But there is an unintentional humor not unlike that found in "Reefer Madness".