Random Movie Review - Cocaine Bear

 

I have been avoiding this film like the plague for a while now, but I figured it is now time to finally talk about it. For a name like Cocaine Bear, one would assume that this is a poorly made comedy film about a bear that takes cocaine and not based on anything that's actually happened. But boy was I wrong on that last part, as the film is loosely based on an actual event that happened. It's also one that features Phil Lord and Chris Miller both as producers, and their production company is included too. Anything those two touch when it comes to anything on screen, usually turns to gold, which has led to many successful films under Sony and Warner Brothers. But it also led to some failures such as Solo: A Star Wars Story which, while not entirely their fault there, Disney really missed a trick with that one and paid the price as a result. So let's see what the fuss is all about with this strange film inspired by true events:

In 1985, a shipment of cocaine is dropped from a plane. The drug smuggler Andrew Thornton (played by Matthew Rhys) attempts to recover it, by parachuting out of the plane, but is knocked unconscious and falls to his death. His body lands in Knoxville, Tennessees and is identified by lock police detective, Bob (played by Isiah Whitlock Jr.) who has recovered most of the cocaine, but a large chunk of it, remains missing. Meanwhile, in a National Forest, an American black bear finds and ingests much of the cocaine which makes it very aggressive, and it begins a murderous rampage against any humans that go near it. Leading to a group of characters arriving at the forest to find the cocaine and/or deal with the bear, before more damage is done. But easier said than done, I would say.

While I will admit that it's not the strongest of Lord and Miller's portfolio of films, it does well to be a comedy with horror. It has stereotypes, chaos, and it's a film that a few of us, really want to get into. But sometimes, it's just difficult because some of the things don't work, and it's just hard to accept that this is inspired by true events. But it could be seen as a good example of what happens when you or, in this case, a wild animal, takes cocaine. 8/10