Cocaine Bear is an exhilaratingly ridiculous black comedy by director Elizabeth Banks. The film follows an over-the-top premise of a coked-up bruin gallivanting through the woods and mauling unsuspecting humans. It is a hilarious hour and a half of outrageousness that sets itself apart from many other comedic horrors and thrillers.
Unfortunately, it becomes over-the-top at times, trying to up the ante when what it needs is to slow down and chill out. The movie is still fun to watch, but it could have been even better if it had reined in some of its excesses.
But then a 175-pound black bear is spotted in the woods, behaving erratically and even attacking unsuspecting park visitors. As the local media dubs it the Cocaine Bear, it becomes clear that the animal has gotten into the drugs, and the situation turns from dangerous to downright terrifying.
With the help of park ranger Elizabeth Hendricks (Claire Danes), Thornton must put an end to the bear’s rampage before it’s too late. In a thrilling climax, Thornton and Hendricks finally confront the Cocaine Bear, forcing Thornton to confront the consequences of his recklessness. But will the bear getaway, or will Thornton be able to save the day?
For police officers Bob (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) and Reba (Ayoola Smart), the discovery of a large quantity of cocaine is a sign of the powerful criminal Syd (Ray Liotta) making ambitious moves. However, Syd’s son Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich) and his friend Daveed (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) are left with the challenge of cleaning up the mess.
Amid her new romance and looking after her daughter, ’80s mom Sari (Keri Russell) does not have time to focus on the strange occurrences in the forest. All these changes when Sari’s daughter Dee Dee (Brooklynn Prince) and her best friend Henry (Christian Convery) decide to skip school to explore the wilderness, not knowing the dangers that await them.
Each of the human characters in Cocaine Bear has their motives for entering the park, and they know what they should do if they see wild animals. Yet, none of them are prepared for what to do when they come across a female bear whose only interests are playing, looking for cocaine, and demolishing anything that stands in her path.
It isn’t meant to be a slight against Cocaine Bear to say that there isn’t a whole lot more to this campy, tongue-in-cheek film beyond the basic elements of screenwriter Jimmy Warden’s script. He quickly brings in characters like park ranger Liz (Margo Martindale) and animal conservationist Peter (Jesse Tyler Ferguson).
Like Universal’s M3gan embraced its goofy qualities while making jokes about dolls killing children, Cocaine Bear wants you to laugh at the absurdity of a seemingly real, but fake, CGI bear going on a drug-induced rampage and eating people.
Cocaine Bear attempts to capture the same outrageous and edgy energy that made Renny Harlin’s Deep Blue Sea a smash hit. However, the movie fails to build tension and instead bombards the viewer with disturbing visuals. By the time the bear injects its second dose of cocaine, it is clear that Cocaine Bear cannot match the brilliance of its predecessor.
The irony of Cocaine Bear, a movie about an animal going berserk, is that it does not need less violence. Rather, it suffers from an abundance of subplots and characters, such as European hikers Elsa and Olaf, and a trio of knife-wielding teens.
The amusing deaths of these characters serve to show that the viewer is not meant to become too invested in their individual lives. Unfortunately, the abundance of underdeveloped characters results in Cocaine Bear feeling more like an overlong Saturday Night Live skit that needs to be reworked and shortened.