By Gabby Foor
Cocaine Bear, loosely based on a true story, is an audacious reimagining of the 1985 story of a black bear ingesting cocaine but, instead of the bear dying from the dose, it goes on a riot. This tale is more aimless than rampaging story wise, but is full of chuckles. Elizabeth Banks’ Cocaine Bear may, in my opinion, take liberties more often than needed, but it has fun doing it. I had few expectations coming into this film, and I’m glad I left them low. This mash up of dread and jest is certainly a unique entry, but it can’t quite balance its intended blend of humor or horror, leaning heavily into humor and relying on gore for its fright. If you’re looking for a goofy, grisly ride with little to worry about, this is the place to devour drugs, savagery (I had a flying dismembered limb tally going) and slapstick comedy in what is otherwise pure beastly violence.
We open to an elated drug smuggler (Matthew Rhys in a short-lived role) dropping his stash. Some of this appears to land in the Georgia wilderness, where a curious bear finds and ingests it, and the rest of which appears to land in Tennessee. The film begins with quotes from the world’s greatest source of info: Wikipedia. It explains the best method to fend off a black bear, and ironically in this situation, it’s the best way to get you killed. After it’s clear our smuggler made part of his drop, we arrive on some hikers in Georgia, 1985, enjoying a trip. As they trek, they are amazed at the sight of a black bear acting odd, but are somehow not distraught by it, taking photos. As you may guess, soon the watchers have become the watched and one of the hikers is taken and dismembered by the frenzied creature. Banks’ true story stretch as to what have might happened works in the earliest portion of the movie, but fades as the “plot” thickens.
Back in civilization the police have arrived in Tennessee to investigate the narcotics drop, and our ill-fated smuggler whose parachute failed. They have the accused narrowed in on an old familiar to the department, Sid White (Ray Liotta, may he rest in peace), as their main suspect. As time is of the essence, White sends his men Daveed (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) and his emotional son Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich) to retrieve the leftover goods from the wilderness. As the law and the dealers close in on the deadly location, Blood Mountain, we finally cut to Sari (Keri Russell) a stressed single mother taking care of her young daughter Dee Dee (Brooklyn Prince). After their plans to Nashville don’t suit Dee Dee’s tastes, she skips school to visit the waterfalls she’s been wanting to paint, bringing her friend Henry (Christian Convery). In a ludicrous excerpt after discovering the scattered drugs, the kids take turns eating cocaine. Not long after the fun and games begin however, the children realize they are being stalked, and soon Dee Dee is hauled into the woods. Once Sari gets a call from the school regarding Dee Dee’s absence, she finds a map to Dee Dee’s likely location, locates a ranger station (manned by a ditzy Margot Martindale as Ranger Liz) and attempts to find her daughter.
The first half is a decent amount of setup, location changing and character gathering, such as an awkward two-minute diner scene revolving around bad pasta and depression for White’s two henchmen that was only meant to set up a “tip” for the police. The two men furthermore embark on a Lord of the Rings level walk through the movie, engaging in strangely emotional talks along the way, as they move in search of their prize. With their amount of screen time, I suppose we needed to know them better from 21 questions, and maybe it’s just the backstory we need. The generally solid performances only have a few standouts, like Henry and Daveed, whose innocent and jaded sense of humors, respectively, lift the dialogue in their scenes. These go hand in hand with generally average camera work in this portion and effects that do nothing to intensify the thrills, get creative with the beast’s movements or positioning (we’ve all seen the same pop up scare a million times with the hikers’ camera), or to enhance any decent acting that might have occurred. For all of these shortcomings I will say this film picks up the pace in its second half as all characters collide and the bear finally gets both the vicious and comical screen time we have been waiting for.
In its second portion, Cocaine Bear does go all out and has as much fun as it can, so I will try to give it credit. Its humor can range from a very Jurassic Park “Clever girl,” scene, to downright goofy CGI bear behavior. The moment for me that stole the film is a scene involving an ambulance with its back wide open, a desperate EMT and the classic poppy Depeche Mode tune “Just Can’t Get Enough.” This scene is also some of the only traces of decent cinematography, wide tracking some of the most intense action from the animal yet. These scenes are so outrageous that you can’t help but admire the gumption they take, but you can also be uprooted by the pure silliness of the effects and over the top reactions. Maybe this feeling of displacement is just my experience, and these are the qualities that make Cocaine Bear an effective comedy. I haven’t been affected by a creature feature of similar amusement and obvious hyperbole since Boar, which took an unusual animal selection and made it terrifying. Cocaine Bear had the task of doing what movies like Back Country did, taking a common predator and reinventing its capabilities, but done here with tongue in cheek sensibilities.
I had hoped for more genuine laughs or a fright, but I walked away feeling silly not chilly, and I’ll assume that’s closer to what Banks wants. Cocaine Bear stepped up to the plate with what looked like the intention to achieve cult status with a loosely true story and madcap concept to spin it off into the bizarre realms that made films like Mandy stick. However, cult status is earned, and I’m not sure that with the lack of plot, inconsistent performances and hokey effects that in this age this film can establish itself to stand the test of time. Ultimately, for me, Cocaine Bear did its job and nothing more as a slapstick star-studded comedy dressed as a thriller. I don’t know what this reinvention will do for you, but I can say don’t let me dissuade you from a weird, wild time. While I may not have enjoyed all that Cocaine Bear had to offer, I tip my cap to it, and I can see what it’s pawing at. Maybe I just need a hit of something to wrap my head around it.