In September 1985, drug smuggler Andrew Thornton fell from a plane in Knoxville, Tenn. He was accompanied by approximately $15 million dollars worth of cocaine strapped to his body and several million dollars worth that he threw from the plane over Chattahoochee National Park in Georgia in an attempt to throw the feds off of his scent. 

While the feds may have been thrown off of the cocaine’s scent, a 175-pound black bear most certainly was not. The bear in question found the drugs, consumed them and proceeded to overdose and die in the forest. While an insane story in its own right, it is not nearly as unbelievable as the 2023 film it inspired, “Cocaine Bear,” which made its box office premier last Friday. 

Elizabeth Banks returned to the directors chair to helm what has become one of the year’s most intriguing projects. Universal’s elaborate and clever marketing campaign for the film successfully built anticipation in the weeks leading up to the film’s release. Unfortunately, the final product doesn’t live up to its expectations. 

While “Cocaine Bear” offers an admirable amount of insanity and unrelenting fun, it lacks a sense of purpose. 

The marketing campaign was never unsure of its goals: shock and awe. Meanwhile, the final film is indecisive as to whether it wants to take its themes and characters seriously or to fully lean into the inherent lunacy of its premise. As a result, the movie lands in a bizarre middle ground that makes for a surprisingly dull two hours. 

Banks spends the film’s first act introducing us to the bland ensemble which consists of hollow caricatures rather than noteworthy characters. While the late Ray Liotta is certainly an exception, the joy that comes from watching his performance has more to do with his excellence than the writing. He fully taps into what makes this type of film special and seems to have had an incredible time doing so. 

Alden Ehrenreich also gives a more than noteworthy performance with what material he was given. Those two actors stand out above the rest of this grand ensemble, though no actor is to blame for the tonal inconsistencies present within the film.

While many would classify this as a dark comedy, I would object to that claim seeing as, in my experience, comedies are typically funny. The thriller elements usually fell as flat as the jokes and the film failed to commit to either.  

I don’t like to base my enjoyment of a film on what didn’t happen or what preconceived notions I had going in, but there is an undeniable level of wasted potential within this script.

“Cocaine Bear” isn’t a horrible film and it certainly isn’t the worst one currently in theaters, but I do wish it had left more of a bite.