Peacock True Story Horror Comedy Goes Absolutely Bonkers
Director Elizabeth Banks’s 2023 hit film Cocaine Bear has several great things working to its advantage, starting with its title. Bears are scary enough, and cocaine generally catches people’s attention – especially when paired with a bear on a movie marquee. So does the films length at just 91 minutes, which makes it easy to watch and digest instead of many films running twice as long or more. The film also has a backstory that supports the adage of fact being stranger than fiction.
Based On A True Story
Cocaine Bear is inspired by the true story of a former corrupt DEA agent who dumped duffel bags filled with Santa’s Little Helper from a plane into northwestern Georgia’s hill country. The DEA agent turned cocaine smuggler died when he jumped from the plane but was carrying too much cocaine for his parachute to work properly and died upon striking the ground. A local bear found the stash of Booger Sugar and ate a whole lot of it, which caused its demise.
Push It To The Limit
The film’s opening scene shows airborne cocaine smuggler Andrew Thornton, played by the always-watchable Matthew Rhys, dumping the cocaine from the plane before attempting to parachute to safety. A bear finds one of the duffel bags and begins to sample the product. Here’s where the fiction begins with the rest of the story based on the bear surviving but also really liking the Devil’s Dandruff.
The titular cocaine bear enjoys it so much that, like Tony Montana in Scarface, there’s never enough. After all, there are more duffel bags of it in the Chattahootchee National Forest. There also are drug dealers looking for it, along with some cops, which provides the setting for a twisted dark comedy with a dash of gore and horror.
The Film Laughs At Itself
Despite the R-rating, Cocaine Bear is one of those fun films that never takes itself too seriously. It isn’t intended for younger audiences or those who might disapprove of wild bears hopped up on Colombian Bam Bam. Nor is it a film with aspirations of winning gold statues and critical accolades.
Cocaine Bear has one singular purpose – to entertain people who like watching gangster films, horror films, and apex predators high on Disco Dust, tearing people to pieces while seeking more of that sweet, sweet Betty White. It also features some twists, including the discovery that the bear is female and has two lost cubs.
Ray Liotta’s Last Film
It’s a fun-filled romp through the North Georgia mountains as gangsters, cops, wannabe criminals, and one hopped-up bear looking for the long-lost blow. It even has a terrific cast, including Ray Liotta as the lead gangster looking for his lost cocaine shipment. Sadly, the film was Liotta’s last, as he died while it was undergoing the usual post-production film edits.
A Deadly Game Of Hide And Seek
Other cast members include Keri Russell, who plays a different kind of mama bear who is looking for her own lost cubs. Her young son and his girlfriend skip school and wind up in the same woods as the elusive cocaine bear and the motley assortment of people looking for the missing cocaine. Margo Martindale, Russell’s co-star from The Americans, plays forest ranger Liz, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson of Modern Family fame plays her love interest.
The rest of the notable cast members include Isiah Whitlock Jr. as police officer Bob, who gladly points Syd in the direction of the “apex predator high on cocaine.” Kristofer Hivju of Game of Thrones fame plays an unfortunate hiker named Olaf. O’Shea Jackson Jr. is one of those sent by those who never received the delivery of Delicious Nose Clams to recover the missing drugs.
Only On Peacock
REVIEW SCORE
The film was well-conceived, lots of fun, and has two “mama bears” who want to find their lost cubs and protect them from Ray Liotta as the gangster named Syd. It’s a terrific example of a great B-movie. You can stream Cocaine Bear on Peacock.
