Cocaine Bear
Cocaine Bear
Starring Keri Russell, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Alden Ehrenreich, Ray Liotta
Directed by Elizabeth Banks
Starring Keri Russell, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Alden Ehrenreich, Ray Liotta
Directed by Elizabeth Banks
There are films that, when you go into it, you really don't have any idea what you're about to see. One example is last year's stellar "Everything Everywhere All at Once," which was a highly thoughtful, existential, nihilistic family drama-action-comedy-horror spanning multiverses. Then there's other films that you know exactly what you're getting into when you buy a ticket, such as "Cocaine Bear" which, simply, is about a...cocaine bear. Much has been said that this is based on a true story, and it is, but the true story is much more boring than what the film portrays. Still, you know what you're getting into and it's a wonderfully breezy 90-minute gory comedy romp about a lovable black bear who ingests a lot (and I mean a LOT) of cocaine and, as everyone who takes that much cocaine does, goes on a blood-fueled rampage in the woods.
In the spring of 1985, a drug dealer drops bricks of cocaine in the Tennessee mountains but gets himself killed in the process, leaving millions of dollars worth of cocaine littered in the Tennessee woods. A black bear happens to come across one and eats it, fueling his bloodlust and igniting a passion for more cocaine. Throughout the day different groups of people enter the woods for varying reasons, and all of them come into contact with the unstoppable killing machine, and must work together to make it out alive.
Reviewing a film like "Cocaine Bear" is both easy and complex, as simply put, the film is an absolute hoot. It doesn't take itself seriously, yet it doesn't dumb anything down for the viewer. It leans wholeheartedly into its insane premise with passion and dedication, wholly earning its hard R rating due to the excessive drug use, language, and of course gore - because you can't have a cocaine-fueled black bear leaving small scratches on its victims. Limbs go flying, blood splatters the forest, and all the while you're trying to keep your guts inside you because otherwise you'll be laughing so hard your guts will come spewing out. While I'm a big fan of the prestige films, I can appreciate "lesser" films like this when they're done right, and "Cocaine Bear" is just right (get it?).
The film doesn't overstay its welcome, providing a lean, tight, fit 90-minute runtime that doesn't have any lulls in the action, only lols from the audience. There's not much story to be had, yet there's a lot of storytelling being told. Characters come and go with little care, yet you find yourself caring about them in the process. Again, it's a strange juxtaposition of corny and serious that allows the viewer to have a great time.
A big part of this is due to the committed performances and the hilarious plots weaving their way through the film. Keri Russell stars as Sari, a single mother who enters the woods to find her daughter (Brooklynn Prince, who was excellent in "The Florida Project") and her dim-witted friend Henry (Christian Convery). Daveed (O'Shea Jackson Jr.) is a drug smuggler working for drug kingpin Syd Dentwood (Ray Liotta in his final performance, fitting that he would go out playing a drug lord) who is sent to the woods to get the drugs alongside Syd's son Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich) who's grieving the loss of his wife to cancer (which Syd may or may not have given her...don't ask). Isiah Whitlock Jr. stars as detective Bob who ventures into the forest to take down Syd, while leaving his trusted partner Reba (Ayoola Smart) with his newfound dog. Margo Martindale's Liz is the local Forest Ranger who crushes on Jesse Tyler Ferguson's animal rights activist Peter as they help Sari find her daughter, while Aaron Holliday, J.B. Moore and Leo Hanna play the Duchcamps gang who terrorizes the forest but are as bumbling as they come. Finally there's paramedics Beth (Kahyun Kim) and Tom (Scott Seiss) who answer a distress call and come upon the fearsome apex predator. Again, while the film won't earn any Oscars for performances or story, everyone involved gives it their all and it shows in the final product.
Apart from the strong casting, the other thing that prevented the film from becoming a low-budget cringe film is with its director. Elizabeth Banks is best known for playing Effie Trinket in the "Hunger Games" franchise, but she's also a great director, and it shows with "Cocaine Bear." Thanks to her expect hand, she crafts a tale as old as time - or as old as 1985, when the real event happened, and gives audiences something they've been longing for ever since the "after" time (you know of what I mean): a chance to escape all the harsh realities of the world and settle back for a laugh-a-minute film with surprising heart that will have you jonesing for more.
The Score: A+
In the spring of 1985, a drug dealer drops bricks of cocaine in the Tennessee mountains but gets himself killed in the process, leaving millions of dollars worth of cocaine littered in the Tennessee woods. A black bear happens to come across one and eats it, fueling his bloodlust and igniting a passion for more cocaine. Throughout the day different groups of people enter the woods for varying reasons, and all of them come into contact with the unstoppable killing machine, and must work together to make it out alive.
Reviewing a film like "Cocaine Bear" is both easy and complex, as simply put, the film is an absolute hoot. It doesn't take itself seriously, yet it doesn't dumb anything down for the viewer. It leans wholeheartedly into its insane premise with passion and dedication, wholly earning its hard R rating due to the excessive drug use, language, and of course gore - because you can't have a cocaine-fueled black bear leaving small scratches on its victims. Limbs go flying, blood splatters the forest, and all the while you're trying to keep your guts inside you because otherwise you'll be laughing so hard your guts will come spewing out. While I'm a big fan of the prestige films, I can appreciate "lesser" films like this when they're done right, and "Cocaine Bear" is just right (get it?).
The film doesn't overstay its welcome, providing a lean, tight, fit 90-minute runtime that doesn't have any lulls in the action, only lols from the audience. There's not much story to be had, yet there's a lot of storytelling being told. Characters come and go with little care, yet you find yourself caring about them in the process. Again, it's a strange juxtaposition of corny and serious that allows the viewer to have a great time.
A big part of this is due to the committed performances and the hilarious plots weaving their way through the film. Keri Russell stars as Sari, a single mother who enters the woods to find her daughter (Brooklynn Prince, who was excellent in "The Florida Project") and her dim-witted friend Henry (Christian Convery). Daveed (O'Shea Jackson Jr.) is a drug smuggler working for drug kingpin Syd Dentwood (Ray Liotta in his final performance, fitting that he would go out playing a drug lord) who is sent to the woods to get the drugs alongside Syd's son Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich) who's grieving the loss of his wife to cancer (which Syd may or may not have given her...don't ask). Isiah Whitlock Jr. stars as detective Bob who ventures into the forest to take down Syd, while leaving his trusted partner Reba (Ayoola Smart) with his newfound dog. Margo Martindale's Liz is the local Forest Ranger who crushes on Jesse Tyler Ferguson's animal rights activist Peter as they help Sari find her daughter, while Aaron Holliday, J.B. Moore and Leo Hanna play the Duchcamps gang who terrorizes the forest but are as bumbling as they come. Finally there's paramedics Beth (Kahyun Kim) and Tom (Scott Seiss) who answer a distress call and come upon the fearsome apex predator. Again, while the film won't earn any Oscars for performances or story, everyone involved gives it their all and it shows in the final product.
Apart from the strong casting, the other thing that prevented the film from becoming a low-budget cringe film is with its director. Elizabeth Banks is best known for playing Effie Trinket in the "Hunger Games" franchise, but she's also a great director, and it shows with "Cocaine Bear." Thanks to her expect hand, she crafts a tale as old as time - or as old as 1985, when the real event happened, and gives audiences something they've been longing for ever since the "after" time (you know of what I mean): a chance to escape all the harsh realities of the world and settle back for a laugh-a-minute film with surprising heart that will have you jonesing for more.
The Score: A+
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