Film Review: ‘Cocaine Bear’

The wilderness can be a rejuvenating breath of fresh air for those looking to unplug from the daily grind. It can also be an unforgiving force of nature.

Especially when it takes the form of a cocaine fueled black bear on a murderous rampage.

Loosely based on true events, the latest box-office hit Cocaine Bear takes this outrageous premise, turns the comedy up to 11, and sends audiences on a wild ride of blood, guts, and laughter full of WTF moments surrounding a drug deal gone horribly wrong.

Opening with a drug smuggler dropping bricks of cocaine from an airplane flying over a Georgia forest, Cocaine Bear wastes no time setting the tone with tongue-in-cheek humor, flashing bear attack info across the screen while citing Wikipedia. Following orders from a sleezy drug kingpin played by Ray Liotta (Goodfellas), two drug dealers venture into the forest to recover millions of dollars worth of Columbian powder. However, a group of teenagers, two kids, cops, and a bear discover the drugs first. This unleashes a hilarious campy horror comedy following the bear’s drug bender as it rips through tourists and others with the misfortune of crossing paths with our coked out forest friend.

Of course no one knows what happened in real life after the bear ingested cocaine that was dropped from an airplane. However, the film imagines what came next in an outrageously entertaining and quirky story with humor on par with Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010) and The Babysitter (2017). This makes sense, considering that Cocaine Bear was penned by Jimmy Warden, the screenwriter for the Netflix hit horror comedy The Babysitter: Killer Queen.

Also responsible for this side splitting bloodbath is Elizabeth Banks (The Hunger Games) who takes a spin in the director’s chair. The film showcases a fantastic cast including Keri Russell (Antlers), Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story), O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton), and Isiah Whitlock Jr. (Cedar Rapids). And, of course, Ray Liotta, making this feature the legendary actor’s last film before his sudden passing.

With an opening weekend box office of $23.1 million, Cocaine Bear is a bear-tastic box-office blowout making noise in theaters everywhere. With an absurd premise and landing most of its jokes, this crazy feature is a surprise hit and easily a personal favorite out of this year’s new releases.

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Brandon Long