Cocaine Bear: Movie Review

Cast: Keri Russell, O'Shea Jackson Jr, Ray Liotta, Margo Martindale, Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Director: Elizabeth Banks

Much like a cocaine high itself, Cocaine Bear is here for a good time, not a long time.

Unashamedly mixing slasher with comedy, this B-movie about a bear that's supposedly ingested large amounts of cocaine after it fell from the sky before going on a rampage isn't afraid to simply do what it needs to do to get laughs and gory kills.

When a group of oddballs converge on a mountain for differing reasons (a mum trying to retrieve her missing kid, a park ranger trying to impress her boss, a pair of would-be crims under orders to get back the lost drugs and a detective trying to bring down a kingpin), the recipe is purely set for 80s-inspired mayhem, with lashes of knowing comedy as this feral Yogi Bear goes looking for more than just picnic baskets.

Based on the apparently true story of a cocaine dealer who killed himself accidentally in the air and scattering his drugs all over the ground, Banks makes great fist of the archive footage from the time and setting the tone for this offbeat romp that's aiming purely for crowd-pleasing (and will land depending on how many beers you've had beforehand).

Yet there are moments when it feels like the pacing is somewhat off in this film which somehow manages to feel its 90 minute run time toward the end - and there's no denying the film fizzles toward the end rather than ending on a triumphant high. Splitting the disparate characters into groups as they converge yields minimum reward dramatically, but at least stretches out some of the film in between the inevitable CGI carnage.

And there are moments when some of the CG carnage doesn't quite meet the high standards you'd expect - even if this is a B-movie wannabe.

But there are times when Banks gets it spot on. 

Much like the effect spinach has on Popeye, the cocaine fuelling the Weta-FX CGI created bear leads to some gloriously OTT moments, with an ambulance sequence set to Depeche Mode's seminal Just Can't get Enough proving to be a highlight.

It does exactly what it says on the tin and there is almost a feeling that it's winking at the audience, but while it wastes some of its cast with fleeting characterisation, feels piecemeal and disjointed in parts and only Ray Liotta is playing it straight in a film where everybody else is in for the comedy - yet there's no denying Cocaine Bear has the chops to provide a good fleeting time at the cinema while it lasts even if the high is a shallow, ultimately disappointing one.