Cocaine Bear is a horror comedy, loosely based on a 1985 true story about a black bear ingesting cocaine dumped by a drug runner. The movie opens on said drug runner dumping duffle after duffle full of coke into the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. The next day various groups of people converge on the forest for various reasons only to be confronted by the titular and murderous creature.
The ensemble cast is extensive and full of talent- Alden Ehrenreich(who has been mostly MIA since Solo), Margo Martindale, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Ray Liotta(in his last on-screen appearance)- to name a few. It's a big cast, maybe too big, but they all are able to carve out a bit of time to do some interesting/eccentric/funny character work. But the script moves a bit too slow, the plot given unnecessary attention(for a movie called Cocaine Bear at least), there's too many varying character arcs that are hinted at but not actually developed. It's just messy.
There's also the issue of tone, its not funny enough and its not gruesome enough and has streaks of confusing sincerity that just muddle the waters. It's a big swing, there's a lot of ambition here and a lot of talent but narratively there's a lot of confusion. Director Elizabeth Banks gets the job done admirably as does the cast but the script needed to be tightened up considerably for it to deliver on the hype.
Fun but thin.
Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.
Stream It.
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