There are fewer films that tin present arsenic succinctly and accurately connected their rubric arsenic Cocaine Bear does. There is simply a bear. She does cocaine. Hence, the Cocaine Bear of it all. But portion the movie comes done connected its gloriously anserine title, it inactive near maine craving thing extra. Sure, it mightiness beryllium unusual to accidental that I wanted more from a movie called Cocaine Bear, but I expect a batch retired of immoderate movie that promises a drug-fueled carnal rampage — particularly 1 directed by Elizabeth Banks and produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller.
If each you request retired of Cocaine Bear is the top hits from its trailer, past the movie is amusive enough. Yes, a carnivore gets into a stash of cocaine, and yes, she proceeds to violently execution anyone who gets betwixt her and her beloved drugs. The resulting movie is goofy and gory, yet besides strangely lacking, arsenic Cocaine Bear spreads itself excessively bladed with an ensemble formed of humans who can't clasp a candle to Cocaine Bear herself.
Cocaine Bear is a chaotic thrust based connected a existent story.
Little bash they know, they'll soon conscionable Cocaine Bear. Credit: Pat Redmond/Universal Pictures
As bananas arsenic it sounds, Cocaine Bear is rooted successful fact. In 1985, cause smuggler Andrew Thornton (Matthew Rhys) dropped millions of dollars worthy of cocaine from a level flying implicit Georgia. A achromatic carnivore successful Chattahoochee National Forest recovered said cocaine and ingested it, dying from an overdose. Cocaine Bear imagines what would person happened had that carnivore not died instantly but alternatively embarked upon a cocaine-fueled sidesplitting spree.
It wouldn't beryllium a sidesplitting spree without immoderate radical to terrorize, and Cocaine Bear introduces a slew of characters who astir surely did not expect their time astatine Chattahoochee National Forest to impact a carnivore connected cocaine. Among them is acrophobic parent Sari (Keri Russell), who is looking for her girl Dee Dee (Brooklynn Prince, The Florida Project) and Dee Dee's person Henry (Christian Convery) aft learning they've skipped school. Sari teams up with Ranger Liz (Margo Martindale) and carnal rights activistic Peter (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) to assistance way them down. Then, there's cause dealers Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich) and Daveed (O'Shea Jackson Jr.), sent by cause smuggler Syd Dentwood (the late, large Ray Liotta) to cod the mislaid cocaine. Hot connected their way is constabulary serviceman Bob (Isiah Whitlock Jr.). It's not agelong earlier they each transverse paths with Cocaine Bear.
Cocaine Bear is simply a star.
Cocaine Bear is scary, but I besides privation to springiness her a hug. Credit: Universal Pictures
Whether she's ramming down doors oregon snorting a enactment disconnected a severed leg, there's nary uncertainty that Cocaine Bear (aka co*key) is simply a cinematic beast. Her luscious fur and cocaine-smeared muzzle presumption her close astatine the intersection of adorable wood carnal and terrifying sidesplitting machine. At 1 point, aft tearing a hiker to shreds and letting retired a magnificent roar, co*key takes a 2nd to respect a passing butterfly. The duality of bear!
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Speaking of duality, Banks nails the simultaneous ridiculousness and panic inherent to the conception of a "cocaine bear" successful each of the film's genre-bending onslaught scenes. A tense standoff successful a parkland visitant halfway turns co*key into the worldly of slasher nightmares. When charging aft an ambulance, co*key displays diversion skills close retired of a high-octane enactment movie. Yet co*key tin get a small silly too, scooting on the crushed connected her backmost oregon cuddling up to a terrified quality who should beryllium honored to beryllium wrong spitting region of this carnivore icon. In fact, we should each be honored to beryllium watching the commencement of a caller fearfulness legend, arsenic co*key lights up the surface whenever she's around. There's conscionable 1 problem...
Cocaine Bear doesn't person capable Cocaine Bear.
Cocaine Bear is connected a mission. Credit: Pat Redmond/Universal Pictures
Cocaine Bear is afloat of nicely committed performances, with peculiar shout-outs to Ehrenreich and Jackson Jr. for their buddy dynamic, and to Convery for his wired crook arsenic a kid who may have done immoderate cocaine. However, determination are truthful galore disparate characters that Cocaine Bear ends up feeling much scattered than a stash of cocaine successful the Georgia mountains.
Banks and writer Jimmy Warden bash their champion to crushed their ensemble with emotionally resonant backstories, specified arsenic Eddie mourning his dormant woman oregon Dee Dee and Sari arguing astir Sari's caller boyfriend. However, these plotlines clash with the different chaotic code of Cocaine Bear, and successful the film's unreserved to resoluteness each of them neatly, they suffer their potency.
I did not travel to the movies to spot Cocaine Human.
But Cocaine Bear's top misdeed of each is that successful spending truthful overmuch clip with these stories, it robs america of precious clip with its titular beast. After all, I did not travel to the movies to spot Cocaine Human. I came to the movies to spot Cocaine Bear. Banks and Warden truly lone amusem*nt america co*key done the eyes of its quality characters, a determination that helps springiness her a wee spot of Jaws-esque mystique but squanders the concept's comedic potential. Would you judge we ne'er spot co*key observe cocaine for the archetypal time? What benignant of insanity would the movie person been capable to wring retired of that archetypal high? And what is the satellite similar done the eyes of a co*ked-out bear? Cocaine Bear keeps its prima astatine excessively overmuch of a region for america to genuinely tell, and that's a shame.
This isn't to accidental that Cocaine Bear doesn't present its just stock of laughs and thrills. It has genuinely laugh-out-loud moments — Ehrenreich's transportation of "A BEAR did COCAINE!" is immaculate — and its champion kills volition permission you hooting and hollering with glee. But arsenic amusive and anserine arsenic Cocaine Bear is, you can't assistance but deliberation portion watching that it could person been adjacent more amusive and adjacent more stupid. Instead, the movie goes into cruise power betwixt bear-centric acceptable pieces, astir arsenic if it got excessively precocious connected its ain premise to propulsion itself to genuinely gonzo heights. Cocaine Bear herself is an instant legend; I conscionable privation I could accidental the aforesaid astir her prima vehicle.
Cocaine Bear hits theaters Feb. 24.
