‘Cocaine Bear’: A Grizzly Good Time
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Trigger Warning: Blood, Gore, Drug Use, Sexual References
Few movie titles catch the eye as immediately as Cocaine Bear. And luckily, the movie more than lives up to that title. Directed by Elizabeth Banks, written by Jimmy Warden, and produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the movie is (extremely) loosely based on an event in 1985 in which an American black bear ingested millions of dollars worth of lost cocaine. Set during the same year in Knoxville, Tennessee, Cocaine Bear follows three main groups of characters; child friends Dee Dee (Brooklyn Prince) and Henry (Christian Convery), drug dealers Daveed (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) and Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich), and park rangers Liz (Margo Martindale) and Peter (Jesse Tyler Ferguson). The story is put into motion when drug smuggler Andrew C. Thornton II (Matthew Rhys) is accidentally killed while trying to parachute from a plane along with a shipment of cocaine. Once the cocaine lands in the forests below, it’s quickly found by a mother bear, who inhales the drug and goes on a rampage.
When Dee Dee ditches school to see a local waterfall with Henry, her mother Sari (Keri Russel) tries to locate the kids with the help of the rangers. But once they find Henry, they encounter the titular cocaine bear, who proceeds to hunt down the characters throughout the movie. As Sari and Henry try to find Dee Dee, Daveed and Eddie try to recover the lost cocaine for Eddie’s drug dealer father Syd (Ray Liotta, in his final role prior to his death). All the while they are being followed by a cop named Bob (Isaiah Whitlock Jr.) and his partner Reba (Ayoola Smart). As they attempt to retrieve the cocaine, Daveed and Eddie are nearly robbed by three local punks, who they manage to fight off before reluctantly teaming up with a punk named Stache (Aaron Holliday) to recover the drugs.
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With so many characters and plots going on, you’d think the movie would become overcrowded. But luckily, Cocaine Bear does a good job of making the different storylines interweave with one another in a fairly seamless way. Each of the characters feels important to the plot and contribute to the ever-growing madness which culminates in a gloriously over-the-top climax. Every actor gives a believable yet hilarious performance that perfectly compliments the movie’s morbidly humorous tone. Though the bear herself is easily the standout character with expressive CG animation and convincing motion capture from Allan Henry. The movie’s dark comedy is on par with Lord and Miller’s previous works, striking a good balance between gore and laughs while leaving room for the actors to improvise and play off of one another.
Cocaine Bear is one of those movies you really have to see for yourself, preferably with a large crowd. As far as gore comedies go, it’s easily one of the most entertaining ones to hit theaters in a long time. If you’re a fan of horror comedies like Scream and Chucky, Cocaine Bear is likely to give you that same fix.
Rating: 9/10
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