In a Forest, People Experience Wild Wildlife

Keri Russell in "Cocaine Bear"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

One of the best things about watching movies is when you see something play out that focuses on true events.  Although some creative liberties may be taken, that doesn’t lessen the impact of what’s being portrayed, so long as the movie itself is well-made, of course.  However, there are times when you might walk into a movie knowing that it’s based on a true story, but go through moments when you might think, “Wait, this actually happened?”  Such instances like that can add quite a bit of vigor to the viewing experience.

The new horror comedy from Elizabeth Banks, “Cocaine Bear,” uses that latter sentiment, although just for the setup.  What she does is take the story from said setup and have it unfold with countless cheesy, fun, energetic B-movie embellishments that has equal parts blood and laughs.

In 1985, circumstances arise that have a drug smuggler drop a cocaine shipment into the Chattahoochee-Ocanee National Forest in northern Georgia.  This soon leads to a groups of cops, drug dealers, tourists, and teens trying to survive the rampage of an American black bear who has ingested large amounts of cocaine.

There are humorous performances from the whole cast, which is led by Keri Russell as a nurse who ventures into the woods to save her daughter (Brooklynn Prince) and her friend (Christian Convery), the latter two of whom have witty chemistry.  O’Shea Jackson Jr. and Alden Ehrenreich play another of the film’s comedic duos who have a fun on-screen connection as two drug dealers who go through the woods to find any cocaine that can be salvaged.  Isiah Whitlock Jr. has an entertaining turn as a veteran detective who takes on the case.  However, the standouts are Margo Martindale as a park ranger and Jesse Tyler Ferguson as a wildlife activist.  With the two of them sharing much of their screen time, they offer a lot of the film’s biggest laughs, with their characters showing a commitment to their work, but with blaring ineptitude.

The screenplay by Jimmy Warden may be a one-joke premise, but he doesn’t write this movie to be any longer than it has to be.  He knows the simplicity of the story with which he’s working and keeps up the momentum with fun dialogue between the characters.  Warden has many people to introduce, but once he does, they all get to the opportunity to have memorable moments in the frenetic scenarios that you’d expect from such a premise.  It’s one outlandish set-piece after another, and despite the thinness of the story itself, you can’t deny the shocks and humor that they provide.

As a director, Banks goes for the full-on cheesy blood-and-gore with each instance where the characters encounter the bear.  She maintains the energy that such a story requires, never letting the ridiculousness of the action nor the absurdist nature of the characters waver.  While the plot may be basic at its core, Banks makes up for that by doing whatever she can to have the human vs. bear scenes be as memorable as possible.

“Cocaine Bear” is a solidly entertaining movie where you don’t get anymore than for which you paid, but it still manages to be enough.

Grade: B