'Cocaine Bear' snorts up the competition

As far as movies go, Cocaine Bear is about as far away from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and pointless sequels as a person can get. Opening in theatres on Feb. 24, people are welcoming the unconventional horror/comedy movie with open arms. The lines just never end. Lines of people at the theatre, that is.

Elizabeth Banks tackles her third major movie directing gig with Cocaine Bear which is loosely based on the real story of a black bear that consumed so much cocaine it died of an overdose. The movie reimagines the bear’s fate and considers the havoc a drug-fueled bear would cause.

In 1985, Andrew C. Thornton II plummeted to his death in Georgia after a drug smuggling run. After getting tangled in his parachute, he dropped 75 pounds of coke in the wilderness. A few months later a bear was found with its stomach “literally packed to the brim with cocaine,” according to Georgia’s Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Kenneth Alonso.

Our story starts strong with Thorton throwing duffel bags of coke off a plane and then meeting his untimely death. Soon, we see the first victim of the coked-out bear, a Scandinavian tourist in the Chattahoochee National Forest.

Beyond the premise of a bear addicted to nose candy, there is a small attempt at a plot line. Drug dealer Daveed (O'Shea Jackson Jr.) is tasked with retrieving the cocaine by his boss Syd (Ray Liotta) and brings along Syd’s son, Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich) who is mourning the loss of his wife. Two children, Dee Dee (Brooklynn Prince) and Henry (Christian Convery), are ditching school when they encounter the bear. Dee Dee’s mother, Sari (Keri Russell) travels into the forest to find the kids and bring them home to be grounded. There is also Ranger Liz (Margo Martindale), wildlife inspector Peter (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), a gang of wannabe punks (J.B. Moore, Leo Hanna, Aaron Holliday), police officer Bob (Isiah Whitlock Jr.), and officer Reba (Ayoola Smart).

All of these interwoven storylines serve as a way to get people into the forest and in the direct warpath of the bear. I feel like any plot is overshadowed by the utter ridiculousness of the bear snorting nose candy off a severed leg.

The first act of Cocaine Bear is non-stop death and bear attacks. Thankfully, it’s not all mauling and mutilation. We see different manors of death, some caused by the bear and some not. The unpredictability of the various deaths kept me on my toes and excited to see what chaos could happen next. Eventually, all the secondary characters are killed and the deaths come to a halt when we only have the main characters left. The movie reaches its peak during an action sequence where the bear jumps into the open back of a speeding ambulance while “Just Can’t Get Enough” by Depeche Mode plays.

Photo Courtesy of "Cocaine Bear" Trailer

As for the second act, the action slowed down dramatically but there were still moments of absurdity. We are introduced to little cocaine cubs, Ray Liotta as an 80’s drug lord, and the near-death of Cocaine Bear.

Speaking of the titular bear, the CGI in this movie was amazing. I never had a moment where I felt taken out of the atmosphere because of weird effects or editing. The film’s budget was $35 million which is considered a low budget compared to the industry average of $50 million. Thankfully, the bear doesn’t suffer with the low budget and comes out looking polished.

Overall, the laughs I had were from the silly premise and events, not from any wonderfully crafted jokes. Cocaine Bear is billed as a comedy-horror and seems more aptly described as a well-made B movie. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie but wished the camp factor was turned up several notches. This is a movie about a bear on coke, the time for any genuine moments has long passed by.

I’d highly recommend this movie to someone looking for a way to shut their brain off and simply have a good time.