We review the wild new action/horror/comedy from Elizabeth Banks while cackling wildly behind the wheel.
Seconds before Cocaine Bear projected itself on the screen, the man to our right whispered to his date, "This is going to be so stupid." What a ridiculous premise for a film!? A random bear on Blood Mountain snorts his way into a massive stash of cocaine, recently dropped from the air by an idiotic drug dealer. Once consumed, the bear goes on a kill-crazy rampage through the woods, snacking on folks who do and do not deserve such a thrashing fate.
You've undoubtedly seen the trailer, you've laughed at it, and maybe it got your curiosity, but you're probably thinking a lot like our next-door theater neighbor. This is a joke. This is stupid.
Here's the thing, however. Cocaine Bear is not stupid. It's far more clever than it has any right to be, and it's actually so good that you wish it were even better. Directed by Elizabeth Banks (Pitch Perfect 2) and produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), Cocaine Bear knows precisely what kind of film it is, loosely adhering to a true event while primarily providing buckets of blood and the purest lines of comedy. We have legit characters portrayed by legit actors (Keri Russell, Alden Ehrenreich, O'Shea Jackson Jr, Ray Liotta, Isiah Whitlock Jr, Margo Martindale, etc.) all converging into a grotesquely absurd situation. Think Magnolia, but with a Cocaine Bear!
A sequence in the middle of the film produced grand howls from both of us. We took that energy through the rest of the movie, and we were high on the experience when we left the theater. And that doubting neighbor to our left? He and his date were raucously hooting alongside us the entire time.
Cocaine Bear is a movie you want to see with the largest crowd possible. Get on your apps. Find those nearly sold out screenings and plunk your butt in one.
Over on our Patreon, we're starting a new series of podcast episodes. They're like our regular Comically Reel movie reviews, but they're the Ride-A-Long Editions. We couldn't wait to start talking about Cocaine Bear the second we exited the Alamo Drafthouse. So, we didn't. Trading our Love Nest for our Honda Accord, we flipped on our recorder and conducted a podcast on the road, hollering all the way home.
Cocaine Bear has a chaotic energy. It's only fitting that our podcast review of it attempts to match that madness. Listen in on the fun RIGHT HERE.
Don't forget! Check out the latest episode of The B&B Show, Brad's Picks the 10 Most Anticipated Movies of 2023, HERE.
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