COCAINE BEAR

Elizabeth Banks in an interestingly underrated director in my opinion. For me, she made the best of the Pitch Perfect films, before moving into the action genre for the surprisingly fun Charlies Angels reboot.

Here she switches genre again, this time into Comedy Horror, with a film whose title tells you almost everything you need to know. A title as subtle, you might say, as a 500lb Black Bear high on Cocaine

Cocaine Bear is the story of, as you may have already worked out, an American Black Bear who consumes an inordinate amount of cocaine. How the cocaine got there is explained, but is also largely irrelevant, because - let’s be honest - when you’re presented with a bear that’s coked up to the eyeballs, how the bear procured said coke is almost certainly not a question you should get too caught up on.

At the start of Cocaine Bear it is announced that the film is based on a true story, but the above is about as far as the truth goes. The real life bear sadly passed away, and, while it is appropriately sobering to know that a bear will have partied harder than you ever have, what it got up to during this period is largely unknown.

What can be said about it however, is that we can be certain it did not go on a drugs fuelled murderous rampage like it’s Hollywood counterpart did.

The bear itself, for the most part looks good. There are occasional moments where the movement of the bear looks off, showing its CGI, but it generally holds up enough that it doesn’t take you out of the film.

The story here is told largely through small, loosely connected, vignettes. Amongst others we have Sari (Keri Russell) who is searching the forest for two truanting teenagers, Ranger Liz (Played brilliantly by Margo Martindale) as the Park Ranger, more preoccupied by wooing environmentalist Peter (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) than doing her job, Daveed (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) and Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich) who have been tasked with finding the missing coke, and - most enjoyably - Bob (Isiah Whitlock Jr.), a policeman who feels one line away from proclaiming himself to be one day away from retirement.

This structure is the perfect way to present the films story. Presented as a linear Man Vs Bear film the plot may have got old quite quickly, but in presenting it in these smaller stories it allows to filmmakers to be a bit bolder. Each vignette is funny and quirky, the performances amped up a little more than you might expect, and because there are plenty of other stories running alongside them it doesn’t necessarily matter if you find one of them less engaging than the others.

Tonally, the film reminded me somewhat of 2010’s brilliant Dale and Tucker Vs Evil, balancing the gore and the horror, with a consistently funny script and over the top performances.

I think your enjoyment of Cocaine Bear will tally almost exactly with how much you think you will enjoy a film called Cocaine Bear. It offers no surprises, but if you enjoyed the trailer, you will almost certainly enjoy the film.

Those who know me will, I am sure, be shocked at this revelation, but I have never partaken in cocaine; though I have been around those who have. And, honestly, given the choice of spending 95 minutes with Cocaine Bear, or another human being on the stuff, the bear wins - paws down - every time. With or without the mauling.