frandoligm@lopers.unk.edu
“Cocaine Bear” is a new comedy film loosely based on the true story of the famous black bear, “Pablo Escobear.” The movie follows the incredible journey of a black bear who accidentally consumed a hefty amount of cocaine in the woods of Georgia in 1985.
The movie opens with a drug smuggler throwing a duffel bag containing 70 pounds of cocaine off a small plane. The bear finds the bag and ingests the drugs, leading to a wild adventure. As the drugs take effect, the bear becomes increasingly angry and unpredictable. The influence of the cocaine gives the bear seemingly indestructible strength and bulletproof skin, making it nearly impossible to take down.
An interesting characteristic was how many storylines the audience follows throughout the film. Middle-schoolers Dee Dee and Henry happen to skip school, which brings Dee Dee’s mom into the story. Her mom, Sari, goes to find her daughter and has to team up with an obnoxious park ranger and the ranger’s clueless boss.
In an additional story line, a gang of drug dealers are on the mission to track down their lost stash in the same area while a local detective gets involved. Along the way we also meet other characters like the hiking hippie couple and a dimwitted group of teenagers that tangle up with the drug dealers.
Most of the characters meet a grisly demise at some point in the movie. Even though this film was labeled as a comedy, there was an abundance of horror elements. The bear stalks its prey throughout the movie, brutally murdering eight people. Three others die from either sheer stupidity or greed. Some of the deaths are pretty gruesome, even by comedic means. I personally would call this a dark comedy.
Rotten Tomatoes gave “Cocaine Bear” a rating of 69% with an audience score of 73%. It is listed as a mystery, thriller and comedy.
The film was a fun watch, but my expectations weren’t too high going into it. I knew by no means this was going to rank on my list of top-tier favorite movies. The movie was packed with funny moments and one liners. I was especially excited to watch this film because late actor Ray Liota, one of my favorite actors, was casted. He is known for acting in countless films but is mostly known for his role in the film “Goodfellas.”
In rating this movie, I would give it two out of five Lopers. It was entertaining and had its fun moments but as I said, it definitely wasn’t a superior film. It was one of those movies that was so ridiculous that it was funny. I would’ve given the movie a higher rating if we got to see the bear more. I feel like he was off screen a little too much. Overall, if you’re looking for a movie to get a good laugh from and enjoy with your buddies this weekend, this will do the trick.
