NEW YORK (OSV News) – Moviegoers would be justified in expecting a film called “Cocaine Bear” (Universal) to showcase some off-kilter ursine shenanigans (and, perhaps, some human ones as well). What they may not expect — but do, unfortunately get — are sickening scenes of the titular predator’s bloodsoaked rampaging played for laughs.
That’s a shame because, as scripted by Jimmy Warden, director Elizabeth Banks’ dark comedy starts out as an amusing ensemble piece about eccentric characters brought into contact by bizarre circumstances. (The plot is very loosely tethered to real-life events that transpired in 1985.)
After crazed drug dealer Andrew Thorton (Matthew Rhys) throws his cargo of cocaine out of an airplane while flying over a national forest, and dies before he can retrieve it, a portion of the scattered hoard is eaten by a black bear. The addled animal then proceeds to threaten the lives of a motley crew of nearby people both ordinary and quirky.
Among the down-to-earth are nurse and mom Sari (Keri Russell), her daughter Dee Dee (Brooklynn Prince) and Henry (Christian Convery-Jennings) the schoolmate with whom Dee Dee has decided to play hooky for the day. The mildly pixelated include vain, man-hungry park ranger Liz (Margo Martindale).
On hand to represent pure evil is Syd (the late Ray Liotta), the crime boss who’ll be in a jam if the remainder of the cocaine isn’t recovered. He dispatches his son Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich) and Daveed (O’Shea Jackson Jr.), one of his minions, to remedy the situation. With recently widowed Eddie bewailing his loss, Daveed plays straight man to his pal’s outsized grief.
The comic potential of Warden’s premise is squandered amid a series of noisome images intended as shock gross-out humor. The outlook for genuine laughs, accordingly, grows increasingly bearish.
The film contains excessive gory violence, including extremely gruesome scenes of death and dismemberment, underage drug use, several instances of profanity, about a half-dozen milder oaths, pervasive rough language, much crude talk and an obscene gesture. The OSV News classification is O — morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
John Mulderig is media reviewer for OSV News. Follow him on Twitter @JohnMulderig1.
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