In December 1985, convicted drug smuggler Andrew C. Thornton II threw several bags of cocaine from an airplane. While Thornton died due to a faulty parachute, some of the cocaine was found by a black bear in Georgia. Sadly, the bear passed away, and its body was found three months later, along with 40 plastic containers of cocaine. In December 2019, filmmakers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller announced they were producing a horror-comedy inspired by the true story. The film was based on a script by writer Jimmy Warden, and Universal announced the project’s development in 2021. They announced actress Elizabeth Banks would be directing, having previously helmed Pitch Perfect 2 and the 2019 Charlie’s Angels reboot. The movie was shot in County Wicklow, Ireland, from April to October 2021 on a $30-35 million budget. After another year of post-production, Cocaine Bear hit theaters in February 2023.
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Synopsis
A massive shipment of cocaine is dropped from an airplane and lands in Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. The drugs are found by a black bear, who ingests the cocaine and starts attacking local hikers. Meanwhile, Tenessee detective Bob (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) is investigating and determines it belonged to drug dealer Syd White (Ray Liotta). Over in St. Louis, Syd sends his fixer Daveed (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) to go to Georgia and retrieve the coke. Daveed meets with Syd’s depressed son Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich) to search for the lost drugs, with Bob soon behind them. In Georgia, local nurse Sari (Keri Russell) is looking for her daughter Dee Dee (Brooklynn Prince), who ran off. With help from Dee Dee’s friend Henry (Christian Convery), she searches for her missing daughter, the bear running rampant. Will Sari rescue her daughter, will Syd get the drugs, and who will survive against the Cocaine Bear?
Review
Cocaine Bear is one of those movies where it can’t seem to decide what it wants to be. Is it trying to be a fun, gore-filled horror-comedy about a coked-out bear killing people? Or does it want to be a serious yet comedic movie about various characters being drawn together by the bear? Of the 95-minute runtime, about 10-15 minutes of it is devoted to the bear going on a rampage. For all the crazy bear stuff, we have to watch these human characters meander about and settle their plotlines. You get the impression that Elizabeth Banks might’ve wanted to go the more extreme route only to dial it back. To their credit, the actors all do a decent job of taking this ridiculous movie seriously, which makes it funnier. The biggest standouts are O’Shea Jackson Jr and Alden Ehrenreich, who have some great and forths.
Keri Russell isn’t terrible as the mother trying to find her daughter, but she comes off as somewhat bland. Ray Liotta, who sadly passed away after filming, has some entertaining moments, though he isn’t in the movie much. The rest of the supporting cast has a few moments, but none stand out memorably except for Isiah Whitlock Jr. Most audiences watch this movie for the coked-out bear, which it delivers on, even if the CGI bear sticks out. Granted, the digital effects aren’t terrible, and some decent practical gore is sprinkled in, so that helps. Still, people expecting the movie to be just like the trailer and poster might be disappointed. Sure, there are the over-the-top bear scenes you hope for, but there’s not enough to live up to the hype. Overall, Cocaine Bear has some B-movie thrills, but it’s padded chiefly with tons of filler.
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