Cocaine Bear – A Ridiculous 80s B-Movie

With a title such as Cocaine Bear, it’s not too hard to sell that kind of a premise to general audiences. Unbelievably based on a true story, it’s simple and to the point but making a film around a simple premise isn’t always easy as some filmmakers tend to overthink during their execution. While the film isn’t perfect by any means, not that many were expecting it to be in the first place, it perhaps overthinks its premise and loses itself in trying to be more than it should have been. That being said, it does have plenty of brutal moments that earn its 18A/R rating and will surely excite audiences. If the film does anything right, it definitely nails its cheesy 1980s vibe. Its self-awareness is admirable as it embraces its silliness and ridiculousness and doesn’t try to be anything more than it is. Short but sweet, running at around the 90-minute mark, the film couldn’t just be a bear though a lot of audiences will probably wish there was more bear. Featuring too many characters in order to create some sort of story around the titular bear, they only muddle the narrative to the point of utter insignificance which could make the film feel like a chore to watch.

The story of Cocaine Bear doesn’t matter beyond said bear as a revolving door of characters found themselves in the same forest in the midst of a bear on a murderous rampage after having had ingested cocaine following a plane crash. A series of interconnected subplots connected to the bear and the forest; the film was essentially a collection of pieces that never quite fit together in a cohesive way. Within that mess was some standout wild moments but the film seemed to often favor those side stories over simply letting the bear run wild. Though it does have to be rooted in something to make it work, the film appeared to go too far in the wrong direction with that surplus of characters who come and go that it could have done without. It was merely interested in putting them in a series of ridiculous situations as they tried to survive and not much else. The problem with that is that the characters are so thin and bland while the bear was painfully underutilized as a plot device instead of a focal point. Meanwhile, the dialog may be befitting to the tone and overall vibe the film was going for, however, it was absolutely horrendous in a somewhat endearing way.

To its credit and in spite of its many flaws, Cocaine Bear has some entertainment, finding some dark comedy from its silly premise. The film is funny more often than not and though the bear leaves a fair share of chaos and destruction (and blood and gore) in its wake, one can’t help but wonder where it’s all ultimately going and what the point of it all is. There was never much to be had as far as the narrative was concerned and the longer the film goes, it shows. Boasting characters from all over the moral and ethical spectrum, the standout was a nurse and single mother named Sari (Russell) whose sole concern was finding her missing daughter Dee Dee (Brooklynn Prince) who was somewhere in the forest. Attempting to ground the film with some humanity, she was compelling to watch if only for her relatable determination. Tagging along was Dee Dee’s best friend Henry (Christian Convery) who got separated from her as they skipped school to head to the forest. In the end, his youthful energy made him a consummate scene-stealer alongside the other heavyweights in the cast.

The VFX used to bring the bear to life were well done in the scenes where it appeared as well as the blood, gore, and other body parts littering the screen in its wake. Opting for a cheesy 1980s B-movie vibe in terms of tone, there was some fun here besides the silly premise as the camera frantically tries to keep up with all the craziness and its mostly over-the-top characters. The performances were decent across the board with the aforementioned Russel and Convery being the standouts. Getting the top billing, Russell was the undisputed heart of the film, using her life experience to think on her feet and survive. Convery’s energy and several hilarious line deliveries were a delight. Margo Martindale as a burn our park ranger also had some scene-stealing moments of her own. While it’s not the fault of the actors, the film just had too many characters.

At the end of the day, Cocaine Bear certainly delivers on its premise. Whether or not it will become a cult classic remains to be seen but it is likely to be a crowd pleaser even if it probably won’t be a memorable one.

still courtesy of Universal Pictures

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.