Overview: Inspired by the 1985 true story of a drug runner’s plane crash, missing cocaine, and the black bear that ate it, this wild dark comedy finds an oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens converging in a Georgia forest where a 500-pound apex predator has ingested a staggering amount of cocaine and gone on a coke-fueled rampage for more blow … and blood!

Blu-ray Verdict: Like everything in the world, there is a yin to a yang. A good for a bad and a plus for a minus. Even some of most tranquil places can be quite dangerous. Sea or land. Of course, things could always get crazier if something man made or a substance of foreign origin enters the picture too.

Apparently, in 1985, a situation occurred which kind of describes this premise although not as outlandish as this film that the story was lifted from. But forget the whole foreign substance bit; big or small feral animals in general can be deadly if left unchecked. The bigger the animal though, the more damage. It’s not like the 1980s had less drugs than decades prior, but it goes to show you just how potent these materials are.

The real story the film takes inspiration from is actually rather quick in resolving itself as opposed to this film. Nevertheless, it makes one wonder if it’s possible. After trying to evade getting caught with several duffle bags of cocaine, the escapee lands in the wooded area of a national park only to end up getting killed. Meanwhile a wild bear finds the bags of drugs and decides to dive in not knowing what side effects may come about.

At the same time, two kids Dee (Brooklynn Prince) and Henry (Christian Convery) decide to skip school and wander off into the same park. Also they don’t tell Dee Dee’s mom Sari (Keri Russell) either. In parallel, the boss Syd (Ray Liotta) wants his drugs and sends his son Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich) and Daveed (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) to retrieve it while detective Bob (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) tries to track them down.

The plot itself is a convergence of character threads all happening to cross paths on this uniquely bizarre journey no one would expect. Writing the screenplay was Jimmy Warden, who previously wrote for The Babysitter: Killer Queen (2020) the sequel to The Babysitter (2017). Naturally, since that was a horror thriller themed film that this would follow a similar path.

Considering the story it’s based on, not being able to control live animals can be scary. And although fantasy horror can be nightmarish, the closer to reality the horror is, usually it is even more scary. That’s one thing Warden definitely doesn’t shy away from. Animal attacks can be very nasty if not stopped. The violence can be over the top at times, but other times it is can be hard to watch for some viewers because of the realistic nature of the deaths.

The characters used in the film though are a mixed bag, which in my humble opinion, is the films weakest area. All the actors perform believably but only some actually have charm. Liotta, Jackson Jr. And Ehrenreich seem to have the most chemistry together and funniest moments. Whitlock Jr. Is a close runner up along with Ranger Liz (Margo Martindale). However, the kids and mom are not interesting. It also doesn’t help that they’re fouled mouthed kids!

It just feels wrong watching youngsters dropping curse words so casually. It’s understood that throughout the decades some kids have poor upbringings, but it doesn’t make the children likeable or funny. Regardless, directing this feature was Elizabeth Banks, known for also directing Pitch Perfect 2 (2015) and Charlie’s Angels (2019) and who also acted in Spider-Man (2002), The Hunger Games (2012), and The Lego Movie (2014).

The camerawork was well put together and due to the setting taking place mostly outside, the scenes involve lots of heavily wooded areas covered in trees and dense shrubbery. Heading this was John Guleserian, who also shot for About Time (2013) and more recently Candyman (2021). The only aspect that is obviously CGI is the bear itself. There’s just no good way of hiding it either, however, there was that movie Grizzly (1976) where an actual bear was filmed. So it’s not like it wasn’t an option, I guess.

Lastly, the film score was composed by Mark Mothersbaugh, who is a rather appropriate choice. Accounting for the fact that this film took place in the 1980s where Mothersbaugh got his fame, it was a wonderful casting choice.

Much of the score consists of synthetic beats and tunes that give it a different sound while incorporating more organic orchestra when needed. Mothersbaugh has proven his skill with other scores to films like The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (2000), Herbie Fully Loaded (2005), Hotel Transylvania (2012) and The Lego Movie (2014).

In terms of incidents it’s not so farfetched, like something the sci-fi channel would produce, although to my eye it has better production value. The bear is obviously fake and the main characters are a bit unappealing, which is to be expected when trying to set them up for dinner, I guess! However, there is a TON OF FUN to be had in the carnage, musical score, cinematography and the supporting characters!

Oh, and as a sad footnote, this is also the great Ray Liotta’s final completed film role before his passing on May 26th, 2022. Liotta died a week after he came to re-record his lines in post-production. Elizabeth Banks said that Liotta also praised the look of the bear, once he got a look at it. [B.D.]

SPECIAL FEATURES
• Alternate Ending
• Deleted & Extended Scenes
• Gag Reel
• All Roads Lead to Cokey: The Making of COCAINE BEAR - Meet the hilarious ensemble brought together to bring the movie of what is soon to be the world’s most famous bear to life
• UnBEARable Bloodbath: Dissecting the Kills - From rigging to special effects makeup, to some of the actors doing their own stunts, we’ll get a bears-eye view into some of COCAINE BEAR’s hilarious and gory kill scenes
• Doing Lines - Cast and filmmakers read lines from the script to COCAINE BEAR, which was a work of art unto itself
• Feature Commentary with Director/Producer Elizabeth Banks and Producer Max Handelman

Official Cocaine Bear Trailer