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Cocaine Bear – Yes, it’s as ridiculous as it sounds, BUT, it was based on a true story, apparently.
In 1985, Andrew Thornton (Matthew Rhys) is throwing cocaine packages out of a plane, attempts to jump from it, but somehow doesn’t make it…
Meanwhile, after hikers Olaf (Kristofer Hivju) and Elsa (Hannah Hoekstra) have come across the bear, the outcome being something you’ll have to see for yourself. Soon after, wildlife activist Peter (Jesse Tyler Ferguson – who just reminded me of Bo Selecta) and park ranger Liz (Margo Martindale) are dancing around each other, but will their love come to fruition in this turbulent time?
Either way, there’s quite a few characters in this, as friends Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich – Solo: A Star Wars Story) and Daveed (O’Shea Jackson Jr – Den of Thieves), plus Eddie’s dad, Syd (Ray Liotta – Black Bird), enter stage right, looking for the downed narcotics, and also thrown in is Sari (Keri Russell – who co-starred with Matthew Rhys in The Americans, even though they don’t share screen time, here), daughter Dee Dee (Brooklynn Prince – The LEGO Movie 2) and her friend, Henry (Christian Convery), so everyone’s mixed up in this, as well as being on the run from a massive grizzly bear who… as we quickly learn, has stumbled upon some of the 20lb packages and ingested it accidentally, causing it to run riot.
Cocaine Bear pretty much has it all: Incidental music sounds like it’s from the ’80s, some ’80s songs, a fight between Daveed and some slacker kids in a bar toilet which doesn’t massively further the plot, but it’s quite fun to watch, Isiah Whitlock Jr (I Care A Lot) – aka Senator Clay Davis from The Wire – as Cop Bob (even if he only gives one “Shit!” – and it’s NOT a “Shiiiiiiiiiiiiit!”, and a lot of humour, such as when the bear lands on Eddie, who exclaims she’s female:
- Daveed: “How do you know the bear is a girl?”
Eddie (muffled): “Her vagina is on my face(!)”
Also, while it’s great to see Ray Liotta, and especially in what was his last-completed film role, just a week before he passed away on May 26th 2022, bar an early scene, he doesn’t turn up again until the last third. He should’ve been used more. That said, he’s more demanding about retrieving the cocaine than most, and as such, his scenes are the ones without any humour in them.
Oh, and like how I first saw a trailer for Cocaine Bear before Violent Night, and how it made me laugh my head off just from the trailer, I got a similar feeling from a trailer before this, for The Strays, which is like The Incredible Journey, but for adults. You can see the trailer below.
There’s also some mid- and post-credits scenes/moments, so you can check out the video below for that.
PS. Elizabeth Banks clearly needs a directing hit, following the dire cock-up that was the 2019 Charlie’s Angels reboot.
And a couple of odd moments amongst the audience during this film. About five minutes in, and one couple came down the stairs and made a quick exit…. I can only imagine they’d gone in the wrong screen, and it was then that they sat up and paid attention!
Plus, an hour in, the guy sat behind me upped and left. It can’t have been that bad for him, that he couldn’t wait another 35 minutes?! You don’t get a refund if you leave early!
Cocaine Bear is in cinemas now, and is available to pre-order on DVD, but no release date is yet known.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 95 minutes
Release date: February 24th 2023
Studio: Universal Pictures International
Format: 2.39:1
Cinema: Cineworld Didsbury
Rating: 8/10
Director: Elizabeth Banks
Producers: Elizabeth Banks, Brian Duffield, Max Handelman, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Matt Reilly, Aditya Sood, Christine Sun
Screenplay: Jimmy Warden
Music: Mark Mothersbaugh
Cast:
Sari: Keri Russell
Eddie: Alden Ehrenreich
Daveed: O’Shea Jackson Jr
Syd: Ray Liotta
Bob: Isiah Whitlock Jr
Dee Dee: Brooklynn Prince
Henry: Christian Convery
Ranger Liz: Margo Martindale
Peter: Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Olaf: Kristofer Hivju
Elsa: Hannah Hoekstra
Officer Reba: Ayoola Smart
Kid (Stache): Aaron Holliday
Vest: JB Moore
Ponytail: Leo Hanna
Beth: Kahyun Kim
Tom: Scott Seiss
Thornton: Matthew Rhys
Ray the Pediatrician: Shane Connellan
Trucker: Conor Lambert
Gabe: George Kerslake
Rosette: New York
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.