Cocaine Bear poster
A human being on a raging cocaine high can be a terrible thing to endure, but a black bear? Pumping up the aggression of a fast moving, 600-pound beast with clawed feet—even if black bears seldom normally attack people—is not for the faint hearted.
And that must have been the elevator pitch for Cocaine Bear, loosely inspired by a true incident in the ‘80s. Archival NBC News footage provides the set-up with Tom Brokaw reporting that a coke dealer parachuted to his death near Knoxville, TN, where police recovered guns and kilos of the white powder. From there, it’s entertainment (don’t say artistic) license from director Elizabeth Banks, better known as an actor for her roles in the Hunger Games series.
It's 1985 in Cocaine Bear as a gaggle of characters converge on Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, some in deliberate pursuit of the contraband that fell from the sky and others stumbling into unforeseen trouble—especially that black bear whose mood was considerably altered after licking up a kilo of the stuff. There is Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich), the doofus son of drug kingpin Syd (Ray Liotta), ushered through life by Daveed (O’Shea Jackson Jr.), his able Black sidekick (a comment on ethnic casting in ‘80s Hollywood). Then there’s the mom (Keri Russell) in search of her precocious grade school daughter Dee Dee (Brooklyn Prince), who skipped school with her friend Henry (Christian Convery) for a nature hike. Dee Dee and Henry discover a packet of coke and not knowing how to ingest it, they swallow a tablespoonful each. There is an amicable detective, Bob (Isiah Whitlock Jr.), on the trail of the cocaine. Also on hand are a park ranger and wildlife inspector, both officious nitwits, and a Beavis and Butthead plus one gang of loser punks who hope to sell the coke on the streets.
Cocaine Bear has been called a “horror comedy.” The laughs are sporadic, and the horror consists of chewed and severed human limbs. The movie maintains a video game-like element of anticipation—where’s the bear and when will it strike next! And there is the fate of Dee Dee, pulled into the woods by the creature without leaving traces of mayhem behind. Will she survive the ordeal?
Cocaine Bear works best as ‘80s nostalgia, complete with bits of War on Drugs ads featuring that infamous fried egg (“your brain on drugs”) and denunciations of drug use by the likes of Pee Wee Herman and Nancy Reagan. It leaves the impression that life was fun, back before oxycontin and fentanyl, in a world without personal computers or political correctness, where drug dealers called their bosses from payphones and park rangers smoked in the visitors center. Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh whips up an electronic score that recalls the Tangerine Dream soundtracks for Risky Business and Firestarter.
Cocaine Bear is screening at Marcus Southgate, AMC Mayfair, Marcus South Shore, Marcus BistroPlex Southridge, Movie Tavern Brookfield Square, Marcus Showtime, Silverspot Cinema-Corners of Brookfield, Marcus North Shore, Marcus Majestic, Marcus Menomonee Falls and Marcus Ridge Cinema.
