The action comedy directed by Elizabeth Banks and starring Ray Liotta in his final role has “gonzo potential,” but “loses momentum” and is “strangely timid,” according to Nicholas Barber.
A US drug dealer threw 40 packages of cocaine from a small private plane into the Tennessee/Georgia forest below in 1985. One of those packages was eaten by a black bear, who later died of an overdose. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the bear was stuffed and displayed in the Kentucky For Kentucky Fun Mall, which sounds like something Nicole Kidman’s character planned to do in the first Paddington film. It’s a tawdry story about humanity’s selfish mistreatment of the natural world, but you can see how it could serve as the basis for a very different kind of story: a raucous action comedy about an enormous fanged beast on a drug-crazed rampage through a national park. In 1985, a drug dealer in the United States threw 40 packages of cocaine from a small private plane into the Tennessee/Georgia forest below. One of those packages was consumed by a black bear, who died as a result of an overdose. To make matters worse, the bear was stuffed and displayed in the Kentucky For Kentucky Fun Mall, which sounds like something Nicole Kidman’s character planned to do in the first Paddington film. It’s a tawdry story about humanity’s selfish mistreatment of the natural world, but you can see how it could be the basis for a very different kind of story: a raucous action comedy about a drug-crazed beast on a drug-crazed rampage through a national park.
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The film, directed by Elizabeth Banks and written by Jimmy Warden, begins with the introduction of the dealer (Matthew Rhys), who is on a high in more ways than one. It’s unclear why he’s getting rid of duffel bags with contents worth millions of dollars, but it’s a fun sequence with a hilariously nasty twist ending. Then there’s a scene in Georgia’s Chattahoochee National Park featuring a happily engaged pair of European hikers in an area called Blood Mountain, ominously. “We have such good luck in nature,” one of them exclaims as she spots a Baloo impersonator in the distance. However, she and her fiancé quickly notice that the bear is “demented.” and they desperately try to understand the ursine code of conduct: “Fight back if it’s black. Lay down if it’s brown.”
Most viewers will wish that it was wittier, faster, and more willing to fulfil the gonzo potential of its in-your-face title
After demonstrating that she is not afraid to kill off endearing characters in the most gleefully gory way possible, Banks moves on to a montage of 1980s anti-drugs commercials, which establishes the period setting and suggests that she is planning some political satire. Cocaine Bear, at this point, appears to be a guilty pleasure that is both deeply guilty and highly pleasurable. If only the rest of the movie had delivered on that promise. However, it loses steam after its deliciously sharp opening minutes. Clearly, Banks and Warden believed that having an apex predator leap from the undergrowth and rip people’s limbs off would provide them with enough meme-worthy moments for a viral trailer, and possibly even a cult hit. They were probably correct. Despite some less-than-convincing CGI, the bear’s Jaws-like attacks make you jump and chuckle, and they happen frequently enough to justify the film’s existence. Banks and Warden, on the other hand, don’t seem to know what to do in between those grisly – or grizzly – set pieces. In short, the bits with a bear in them are far superior to the bits without a bear in them. And the latter are far more prevalent than the former.
Instead of showing us the moment the title character discovered and ingested the drugs, the film continues to introduce characters who could have been in the first draught of a Coen brothers script. A tough nurse (Keri Russell) teams up with a forest ranger (Margo Martindale) and a conservationist to find her missing daughter (Brooklynn Prince) (Jesse Tyler Ferguson). Ray Liotta plays a drug lord who wants his cocaine back. Two of his henchmen (Alden Ehrenreich and O’Shea Jackson Jr.) engage in some sub-Tarantino banter and a game of 20 Questions. And a cop (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) is concerned that his new pet dog isn’t as masculine as the one he wanted.
As these characters stroll through the park, They’re almost funny enough to keep us interested, but their scenes feel strangely sluggish and redundant because they have little to do with the one character we want to learn more about: the bear.
Given the premise, the film could have made some interesting points about the environment, animal cruelty, or America’s drug war. Alternatively, it could have made no points at all and simply been a helter-skelter, blood-and-guts exploitation film in which a gang of manic misfits is chomped to pieces. But what we get instead is a strangely timid film for a film called Cocaine Bear. Contrary to popular belief, it lacks bite. Rather than being outrageous and entertaining, Banks and Warden concentrate on musings about the value of being a caring parent and a loyal friend. But why would you want to hear those if you paid to see a B-movie about a furry giant with a taste for class-A narcotics? It might be best to watch Cocaine Bear at home, where you can skip straight to the laughs and screams and avoid the rambling sections. Most moviegoers will wish it was wittier, faster, and more willing to live up to the gonzo potential of its obnoxious title. It’s certainly better than Banks’ previous film, Charlie’s Angels, but you can’t help but feel that she’s done the bare minimum.
