Anthony's Film Review - Cocaine Bear (2023)

The concept is pretty wacky, but at least the film is amusing and not that stupid...

There's one thing I noticed recently. If a movie title mentions a certain animal and sounds really corny, it's going to get your attention, usually in a funny way. Sharknado and Snakes on a Plane come to mind. The common assumption is that the movie must be terrible if the title sounds so stupid. Often, watching the movie confirms that notion. (Admittedly, though, I did enjoy Snakes on a Plane.) No matter what, a bad movie title, especially if it mentions an animal, might actually have marketing potential, at least by word of mouth. With that in mind, let's talk about Cocaine Bear.

Believe it or not, this movie is inspired by a true story. In 1985, a black bear actually consumed cocaine that had been dropped from a drug-smuggling plane. The bear did die from the drug overdose and was not known to have harmed or killed any humans before then. A movie that portrays this 100% factually won't really be that exciting. Hence, a screenwriter would have to take portions of the true story and apply some creative liberties to make the movie fun to watch. So why not a bear that becomes a killer bear as a result of eating cocaine?

This movie presents an ensemble cast portraying characters whose paths may intersect with each other. Keri Russell is a mother searching for two missing kids. Ray Liotta is a drug kingpin. Alden Ehrenreich is the kingpin's depressed son. O'Shea Jackson Jr. is a guy tasked with recovering cocaine lost in a forest. Isiah Whitlock Jr. is a Tennessee cop looking into the cocaine in the forest. Margo Martindale is a clumsy park ranger. There are other characters as well, but you get the idea. Everyone has a different agenda, but one thing ties them together: a black bear high on cocaine.

In other words, these characters will either die in the hands of the cocaine bear or get close to it. Given its drug-induced state, the bear will not be soft with its victims. You can pretty much expect gruesome ways to die, with plenty of on-screen blood and gore. This is what provides the dark in this dark comedy. As for the comedy, there are plenty of jokes here and there to at least make you laugh a little, so in my book, it's a good-enough comedy.

So there you have it. Cocaine Bear, directed by Elizabeth Banks, is a decent horror comedy about a wild animal that is really wild. It's one of those movies that can help kill 90 minutes of your time if you have absolutely nothing else to do. At this point, I wonder if Cocaine Bear will launch a film franchise of comedy movies about drugged wild animals. It can't be that hard to come up with ideas when all you have to do is pick an animal and pick a drug. In any event, Cocaine Bear will surely please fans of dark horror comedy.

(And while I'm at it, let me pay a quick tribute to the late Ray Liotta, who died shortly after completing work on this movie. He's had a great acting career, and it's fitting that one of his final roles is a drug kingpin in this movie, which fits well with his best-known work, Goodfellas. Rest in peace, Ray. Thanks for the memories.)

Anthony's Rating:

For more information about Cocaine Bear, visit the Internet Movie Database.