‘Cocaine Bear’ Review: “Camp and Cocaine”

When you think of the 1980s, you mainly think of two things: cocaine and camp movies. Of course, there were synthesizers in the music, extremely bright colors, and The Breakfast Club too. But cocaine is what everybody remembers. Scarface being a gigantic hit among a bunch of other films based on cocaine is still relevant today. Imagine this though: you take the cocaine and mesh it with Jaws on land… How does that sound? Because if it sounds amazing, it is. Insert Elizabeth Banks’ newly released Cocaine Bear. 

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Cocaine Bear is based on a true story of a black bear in the Appalachian Mountains who got ahold of a few keys of coke and lasted five minutes before its stomach exploded. Of course, this is a feature-length film, so this bear lasts for much longer. Anywho, the film is focused on Syd (Ray Liotta), a man on a mission to get his cocaine after his pilot ruins the drop. He sends his worker Daveed (O’Shea Jackson Jr) and his son Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich) to find the bags of cocaine and bring them back to Missouri. There are just two problems: a bear has found the coke, and Bob (Isaiah Whitlock Jr) is looking for Syd.

There’s also a group of kids – Henry (Christian Convery) and Dee Dee (Brooklynn Prince) – that skip school to go into the forest and color the falls. Dee Dee’s mom Sari (Keri Russell) goes looking for her and soon finds out about the bear off cocaine. There’s also a group of teens and tourists riddled throughout the forest. This is an uncanny film about a Cocaine Bear terrorizing everybody it comes across and it’s a ton of fun.

The film doesn’t take itself seriously ever, and that’s the best part about it. Banks is able to lean into the dark and gritty humor without overdoing it. The blood and gore are perfectly placed, and the actors hold back nothing. Cocaine Bear may be the most fun you have at the movies this year and it’s because Banks knows this is about an extremely ridiculous scenario.

Jimmy Warden’s script for Cocaine Bear explores parenthood from the standpoint of a mother in Russell and a father in both Liotta and Ehrenreich. Russell plays a character looking for her daughter and a neighborhood friend. Liotta plays a kingpin that’s trying to essentially stop a drug war that may end up costing him his family. The parenting standpoint is something that really sticks out because even with all of the ridiculousness happening throughout the film, Banks was still able to squeeze this in.

Also, this script taps into how much of a craze cocaine was in the 80s. The film starts off with an anti-drug ad. We know Reagan played up the war on drugs that’s been pointless from the start. We can discuss how his presidency ruined minority communities another day, right now we are discussing the drug he pushed on the country and demonized at the same time. Cocaine may be taboo in 2023, but in the 80s you could get it pretty much wherever. Which is what makes the bits about cocaine and its use in this film funny.

The cinematography in this film was a lot of fun. The camera angles and how hyper-focused it was when the bear is on full display were a lot of fun. We are talking about one of the greatest predators known to man on land, and it absolutely was fantastic. The CGI may be the one complaint I have about this film, but again this is a film that leans into the camp and ridiculousness. Mark Mothersbaugh’s score is like something Giorgio Moroder would: nothing but synths, bass, and hi-hat drums.

Scott Seiss in his first movie held no punches back. I’m usually against social media influencers and the like being in films, but my goodness was he fun. The rest of the cast was amazing as well. Russell plays one hell of a mom, and Liotta and Jackson Jr are also great on camera. Whitlock Jr is a treasure as well and should be treated as such. This was a great rag-tag cast but it was good chaotic fun.

Cocaine Bear is a fever dream for every camp fan. We’ve had Pirhana, Sharknado, Eight Legged Freaks, and plenty of other wild creature features, but this takes the cake. This is a high-octane film that doesn’t skip a beat. From beginning to end, you are on a high that not even Dominic Toretto can concoct. If you love chaos and violence, then Cocaine Bear is the film for you. – Rascal F. Kennedy

Rating – 10/10

Cocaine Bear is in theaters now!