I’m not going to beat around the bush, this is one of the silliest movies I’ve watched in a long time – but gosh, it was immensely entertaining! Maybe it’s because slapstick 80s-style comedy has always had a soft spot in my heart, so I personally enjoyed every bit of this film which is loosely based on a true event that happened in 1985 when an American Black Bear accidentally stumbles across – and ingests – millions of dollars’ worth of pure cocaine lost by drug dealers.
The plot is as simple as can be – a big bear high on cocaine, now on a crazy, drug-fuelled rampage marching through the forest attacking anyone who gets in her way. In the group of unfortunate souls to cross her path is a mother looking for her daughter, some naughty teens skipping school, a pair of European hikers, a small gang of fumbling thieves, a detective, a forest ranger (and the guy she has a crush on), and of course – the drug dealers looking for their lost loot.
This film was hilarious! I literally laughed out loud so many times. The bear was both terrifying and enjoyable to watch, and every scene with her in it was fun! Even the ‘kill scenes’ were funny, despite many of them being super bloody and gory. For me, many of those scenes were unrealistically violent, which is probably why it was easier to laugh at them. Kind of like how the 1984 classic Little Shop of Horrors was marketed as a horror, but in reality, it was a dark comedy that made you chuckle, even when the giant plant was eating people (if you haven’t seen this Rick Moranis film, it’s a classic). Cocaine Bear was just like that – a premise so silly, it just had to be funny.
Although the film did receive some negative reviews, in my opinion, the secret to enjoying Cocaine Bear is to simply leave your brain at the door. It had some great one liners, and a great cast (especially Ray Liotta, in his last ever role before he passed away). True – It’s far from ever winning an Oscar for Best Film (or Best anything to be honest), but for an entertaining, hysterical, goofy take on ‘man vs nature’, this one gets two thumbs up from me.
In cinemas now.