‘What the fuck is wrong with that bear?‘
Sometimes, a film’s title can be so irresistible that it captures the imagination of the theatre-going public. Snakes on a Plane. Sharknado. And, of course, Cocaine Bear. When the title is so provocative, you’re setting yourself up to fail. Cocaine Bear does at least deliver on the promise of the title. There is a bear. It is high on cocaine. Of that, there can be no doubt…
After a huge amount of cocaine is accidentally dumped in a national park in Georgia, a ragtag bunch of criminals, cops, children and park rangers descend on the forest. Dee Dee (Brooklynn Prince) and her friend Henry (Christian Convery) just want to skip school and spend the day searching for a local waterfall. When they are accosted by an actual cocaine bear, Dee Dee’s mother Sari (Keri Russell) pursues them. Meanwhile, crimelord Syd (Ray Liotta) sends his grieving son Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich) and minion Daveed (O’Shea Jackson) to find the coke and they are pursued by hapless cop, Bob (Isiah Whitlock).
Elizabeth Banks is better known as a comedic actress appearing in everything from The Hunger Games franchise to the work of Judd Apatow. She does a good job behind the camera here in taking Jimmy Warden’s screenplay and turning it from more than just a great title and a one-note joke. The bear itself looks menacing and imposing and Banks strikes an accomplished tonal balance between humour and horror. In short, everyone here understands the assignment with the talented cast wringing plenty of humour out of what is a preposterous premise.
The real-life story of the cocaine bear is not at all entertaining. It’s actually incredibly sad. If you can be distracted by Cocaine Bear long enough to appreciate it for what it is, however, there is a good time to be had here.