Elizabeth Banks heard the word ‘camp’ and ran with it in her newest film “Cocaine Bear,” which opened on Feb. 24. The film has already amassed $28.5 million on opening weekend with a budget of roughly $30 million. It’s been a hit amongst critics and regular audiences alike.
With this being Banks’ most highly anticipated film to date, she was able to deliver a fun, fast-paced and gory film that pays homage to schlocky horror films of the 80s.
The film is very loosely based on the true events of the Pablo Eskobear incident back in 1985. The real-life events followed Andrew C. Thornton II, the narcotics officer behind the dumping of cocaine in Georgia in 1985. He did die in the real events that inspired the film, though it was over a hundred miles from where the dumping happened. Unlike the film though, the bear was found dead and no one was reported injured from the instance. It was found in the Chattahoochee National Park three months after the cocaine drop, which is also the setting for the events in the film.
“Cocaine Bear” is able to balance gore and comedy as seamlessly as one can with the material of the film, and has an all-star cast who knocked it out of the park. The performances from young actors Brooklyn Prince and Christian Convery as the main children were hilariously stellar. They didn’t miss the mark once on any of the jokes.
“Cocaine Bear” was divided into several plot lines that all eventually intersected at the climax of the film. This worked particularly well because the characters are not overly complex and it added to the comedic value of the overall narrative.
The first plot line of “Cocaine Bear” is the overarching story based on the real-life inspiration of the film. After Andrew C. Thorton II knocks himself unconscious while dropping a shipment of Cocaine in the middle of the Chattahoochee National Park, Syd (portrayed by Ray Liotta) has his son, Eddie (portrayed by Alden Ehrenreich) and a drug dealer, Daveed (portrayed by O’Shea Jackson Jr.) enter into the heart of the woods to find the rest of the cocaine.
The second plot line of the film includes Dee Dee (portrayed by Brookylnn Prince), the daughter of a nurse who wants to venture into the Chattahoochee National Park to paint a specific waterfall. After fooling her mother into believing she is going to school, she takes her friend Henry with her to find the waterfall. The rest of the subplots of the film follow the horribly gory mishaps that hikers, paramedics and park rangers go through.
This movie doesn’t take itself too seriously yet was still able to deliver some heart-warming plot lines for both the humans and bears. Though an overarching theme wasn’t expected for “Cocaine Bear,” Elizabeth Banks was able to deliver one that really works and impacts audiences. The overarching theme of the film seems to be protecting and defending the ones you love. This can be seen most clearly within the relationship Dee Dee has with her mother as well as the friendship between Daveed and Eddie.
“Cocaine Bear” is a film that fuels the rise of man vs nature narratives popularizing in the media today. There is something inherently shocking and gripping about a man vs nature narrative where man loses. The movie is a clear answer to the question of what if the bear was able to get revenge and what that would look like. These aspects of “Cocaine Bear” and the campy, gory nature of the plot can contribute to the virality of the film on social media platforms.
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
