Cocaine Bear
We all remember where we were when we first saw a Cocaine Bear advertisement and, with that, our reactions: “a movie about a bear that gets high and goes on rampage…? This can’t be serious.” Oh, they weren’t, and the film is all the better for it. Cocaine Bear thankfully rises to its outlandish concept and delivers an over-the-top, campy, and, above all, fun moviegoing experience. After a drug dealer’s (Ray Liotta) cocaine delivery goes bust, a bear goes on a killing spree when it gets high on the supply that was thrown over its neck of the woods. Daveed (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) and Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich), who work for the drug dealer, attempt to recover the coke from the forest but soon find that the apex predator has gotten to it first and it’s not going down without a fight. Also crossing paths with the rabid animal are two kids skipping school (Brooklynn Prince and Christian Convery) and a park ranger (Margo Martindale) assisting their mom/guardian (Keri Russell) in search of them. What ensues is exactly what audiences wanted out of Cocaine Bear: a tongue-in-cheek comedy with absurd antics and gratuitous gore.
The film harkens back to the slashers of the 80’s where writer, Jimmy Warden, replaces the masked serial killer with a coked-out bear. Throughout its 95-minute runtime, the screenplay oscillates between its comedic and crude elements with suspenseful, violent moments that lean into slasher territory – blood and guts included. Where Warden falters in his writing is in giving the film too many moving parts for its own good. The introduction of a wide array of characters drags Cocaine Bear down to being convoluted at times and it especially becomes a detriment to the film when the intrigue and momentum built in one of the storylines is immediately stymied by cutting away to another at the worst possible moments. Had the script been streamlined and edited, it would have made for a more consistent and focused film. However, when the film is at full throttle, it shines.
Cocaine Bear reaches levels of camp and unseriousness that we haven’t seen in mainstream releases until recently with Universal’s other horror outing this year, M3GAN. Except, where M3GAN held back with its kills, Cocaine Bear goes the distance and maintains its cheeky eccentricity. From someone’s brains getting blown onto the titular bear’s face to having the bear snort a line of coke off a severed limb, the film ups the ante until its last minute. Although it requires trudging through a sluggish first act, when the insanity ramps up, it’s worth the while.
The cocaine bear herself as she gets another fix of blow before going on yet another murderous trip.
If it’s not evident already, the characters in this film and their motivations are certainly not the reason to purchase a ticket. In the face of their rather uncompelling storylines, the actors – minus a wooden O’Shea Jackson Jr. – do their part in playing to the film’s tonal beats and, therefore, add to its B-movie aura. Similarly, the film’s overdramatized score, characterized by its 80’s synth and horns, acts as yet another homage to films of that decade and further contributes to Cocaine Bear’s outrageousness. Like the middle-of-the-lane performances found in the film, Elizabeth Banks’ direction isn’t anything groundbreaking. Nonetheless, it is still a step up from the seemingly AI-generated blockbusters plaguing the box office right now with her stimulating-enough camera placements and ability to keep up with the farcical action and not lose any momentum.
This cult classic in the making serves up exactly what it sets out to accomplish and nothing more. A wild ride at the movies and a breath of fresh air in the over-saturated market of reboots, sequels, and superhero films, Cocaine Bear lines up its comedic elements, flashy kills, and irreverent attitude to deliver an intoxicating high of adrenaline and giddiness. Despite its shallow characters, uneven pacing, and overall bloated feel, Cocaine Bear is, I hope, a sign of things to come for Hollywood in which more and more studios are willing to throw money at original concepts and indulge in artists’ unconventional visions. Between the already iconic bear’s online “memeification” and droves of people filling up theaters to see the bonkers premise for themselves, it appears the general public is ready to move into a new era of blockbusters as well.
Verdict: For its unabashed displays of gore and commitment to its absurd concept, Cocaine Bear cements itself as a Nick Pick.